A high-risk sex offender has pleaded not guilty to a harassment charge by Seattle police after fleeing Canada for Washington State earlier this month.
A Seattle municipal court judge Wednesday set the “unusually high bail” of $100,000 for a misdemeanor harassment charge, a day after police announced that Stanley is also a suspect in the sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy in Seattle.
Stanley, 48, made his first court appearance via video link from a local detention centre.
Stanley, a U.S. citizen, entered the States on Oct. 7 from Canada, after eluding RCMP for more than a week. In Seattle, he was ordered to register as a sex offender.
On Tuesday, police alleged that Stanley met a teenage boy in a grocery store and sexually assaulted him in an alley in West Seattle. According to a news release, the teen pulled a knife on Stanley, fled and contacted police.
Stanley is not yet facing any charges related to the alleged sexual assault, but Seattle detectives believe the incident caused people to phone police about noise and threats emanating from the alleyway.
Officers arrested Stanley early Tuesday morning for harassment, alleging that Stanley, while intoxicated, threatened to assault a person after being told by the individual to quiet down. Police say Stanley became “combative with officers and claimed he had a knife” when officers arrived at the scene.
According to the Seattle City Attorney’s office, Stanley has also been convicted in Seattle of first-degree burglary and DUI.
Stanley has a long history of sexual violence and incarceration.
On Oct. 1, he went missing after removing his electronic monitoring bracelet near the Alberta-Saskatchewan border. His disappearance triggered a multi-province search and school lockdowns.
In 2006, he was convicted of assault and unlawful confinement of two boys, ages nine and 13. He was released from jail in April 2011 after completing a 32-month sentence.
He is wanted in Canada on charges of breach of recognizance, mischief and driving offences -- but his most recent charges relate to cutting off his ankle bracelet and fleeing.
Canadian officials decided not to seek extradition after Stanley entered the United States. In a statement on Oct.12, the Alberta government said although Michael Stanley has a criminal record of violent offences, the Canadian warrant for "Breach of Peace Bond" is not serious enough to justify asking American authorities to turn him over.
In Seattle, Stanley listed an address in downtown Seattle, near a preschool. In Canada, he had been ordered to stay away from children.
Stanley told a local reporter last week that his presence in Seattle shouldn’t cause people to worry.
“My face is all over, you think I’m going to do a crime? I have people ratting me out left and right anyway, so what good is that, I don’t want to be in jail,” Stanley told the reporter.
With files from The Associated Press
