Sex predator has town on edge

SANDPOINT — A violent sexual predator who bounced around the Pacific Northwest after being released from a California mental hospital has relocated to Sandpoint.

Kenneth Kaston Rasmuson lives at 612 South Third Ave., a residence adjacent to Third Street Pier, a city park.

Rasmuson registered his residency on Monday, according to the Idaho State Police sex offender database.

Rasmuson, 48, has convictions in Santa Barbara County, Calif., for lewd and lascivious conduct with a child and sodomy. The convictions date back to the 1980s.

Rasmuson weighs 200 pounds and stands 5 feet 11 inches. He is Caucasian with brown hair and blue eyes.

Rasmuson’s relocation to Sandpoint has many in the community on edge. Sandpoint Police Chief Mark Lockwood said his office has received scores of e-mails and phone calls from concerned residents.

Lockwood said officers made face-to-face contact with Rasmuson on Saturday to verify his identity and residence address. There have already been reports that Rasmuson has re-offended since moving to Idaho, but Lockwood said those reports are unfounded.

“We’re dealing with him like we would any registered sex offender,” Lockwood added. “If he violates anything in Idaho Code, we will take appropriate action.”

There are 86 registered sex offenders in Bonner County, 12 of whom reside within Sandpoint’s city limits. Five of the 86 registered sex offenders are deemed violent sexual predators. Rasmuson is the only violent sexual predator living in the city limits, the state registry indicates.

Statewide, there are 55 people classified as violent sex predators. Those with the designation are determined to pose a high risk of committing an offense or engaging in predatory sexual conduct, according to Idaho Code.

In 1981, a 19-year-old Rasmuson was ordered held at the Atascadero State Mental Hospital in southern California after molesting an 11-year-old boy, court documents from that jurisdiction show. He was released in 1985 and re-offended two years later.

Rasmuson was accused of snatching a 3-year-old off a sidewalk in Highland Park, Calif., in 1987. Rasmuson pleaded guilty to kidnapping and molestation and was sentenced to 17 years of incarceration, the LA Times reported.

Rasmuson petitioned for conditional release from Atascadero in 2004, but a trial court rejected the request on grounds that he had not met the burden of proof that it was unlikely he would re-offend. He successfully appealed and was granted conditional release in 2007, court records show.

In 2009, Rasmuson was living in Lompoc, Calif., according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. He later moved to Federal Way, Wash., before relocating to Eugene, Ore., last month, published news reports indicate.

As a registered sex offender in Idaho, Rasmuson is prohibited from being within 500 feet of a school or being employed by a child daycare provider. He is required to update his sex offender registration every three months.