Corrections report recommends 'total confinement' for Steven Powell

Corrections report recommends 'total confinement' for Steven Powell

(Courtesy Wash. State Dept. of Corrections)


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TACOMA, Wash. — Steven Powell "continues to put the community at risk" with violations of his parole, a new progress report from the Washington Department of Corrections states.

"Mr. Powell has made no attempts or shown any desire to comply with the requirements of supervision or change his behavior" since he was released from prison in March after serving 30 months for his conviction on multiple counts of voyeurism, the report states.

It further noted that Powell's actions and lack of cooperation with officials since being released from prison do not allow corrections officials to "thoroughly monitor his activities in order to maintain the safety of his victim(s) and the community.

"Mr. Powell's adjustment to supervision can only be described as extremely poor," the report says, while further noting that his behavior "constituted an obvious risk to officer and community safety."

The report recommends 60 days of "total confinement" for Powell. A court hearing on his parole violations is scheduled for Nov. 21.

The violation is the latest in a series of legal troubles Powell has been involved with since being released eight months ago. Last month, prosecutors refiled a charge of possession of child pornography against him in Pierce County Superior Court after an appeals court determined that the charge was wrongly dismissed by a judge during Powell's original 2012 trial. Powell is accused of taking inappropriate pictures of two neighbor girls, ages 10 and 8, using a telephoto lens to peek into their home. If convicted of that charge, Powell could be sent back to prison for another five years.

A Risk to the Community:

The Washington State Department of Corrections listed the following incidents as reasons Steven Powell remains a risk to the community:

  • May 2014: Powell failed a Sexual History Disclosure Examination polygraph
  • July 2014: Powell jailed for visiting fast-food restaurant frequented by children
  • Aug. 2014: Powell's counselor terminated treatment because Powell refused to cooperate with evaluation
  • Aug. 2014: Powell sentenced to three days confinement for being "manipulative" with parole officer

A pretrial hearing on the refiled charge is scheduled for Wednesday.

Powell was ordered to complete a sexual deviancy treatment program when he was released from prison and undergo a psychosexual evaluation. He was also ordered to stay away from places where juveniles are typically found such as pools, parks, playgrounds, schools and other locations.

In May, Powell was given a Sexual History Disclosure Examination polygraph. Some of his the responses to the questions he was asked were determined to be "not truthful," according to the report.

In July, Powell went into a Jack in the Box fast-food restaurant. Police found him there. As a result, he was sentenced to nine days in jail for visiting an establishment where minors frequent, the report states.

In August, Powell's counselor "terminated treatment" because Powell refused to cooperate with the psychosexual evaluation, according to the report. His parole officer determined he was being "manipulative," and he was sentenced to "three days confinement."

Powell again refused to answer questions about his sexual behavior during treatment in October, according to the report.

Powell is the father of Josh Powell, who murdered his two young boys before killing himself in 2012. Police believe he also killed his wife Susan Cox Powell, who has been missing from their West Valley City home in Utah since December of 2009.

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Pat Reavy

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