Sex offender who fled Canada arrested; allegedly assaulted 16-year-old
Michael Sean Stanley
SEATTLE -- A sex offender who fled Canada earlier this month was arrested Tuesday morning after allegedly sexually assaulting a 16-year-old he met in West Seattle and harassing neighborhood residents, police said.
Sean Michael Stanley, 48, was arrested around 6 a.m. in the 2300 block of 44th Avenue SW after police received reports of a man yelling in an alleyway. The caller told police that when the man asked Stanley to calm down, he threatened to assault him.
When officers came to the scene, Stanley allegedly emerged from a large dumpster at the top of a stairwell. He allegedly became combative and resisted officer's calls to put his hands behind his back. Stanley also appeared intoxicated, and was in possession of a multi-tool with a three-inch blade. He was arrested and booked into King County Jail for harassment.
A short time later, police received a report that Stanley was involved in a sexual assault in West Seattle. According to a Seattle police report, Stanley met a 16-year-old male at a grocery store and walked with him into the alley in the 2400 block of 44th Avenue SW. Stanley allegedly plied victim with alcohol, grabbed the teen and assaulted him.
The 16-year-old pulled a knife on Stanley and ran away to call police, officers said.
Stanley has received much media attention since he fled Canada earlier this month. He was a registered sex offender in Canada, but because he hadn't committed a crime in the U.S., police could not arrest him once he entered the country since he was a legal U.S. citizen. His name became public after it was suspected he may have had a hand in a Federal Way attempted abduction, but police later determined he wasn't in the area.
Stanley has a history of violent, sexual crimes. He was convicted of kidnapping two boys from a school playground, as well as raping an 83-year-old woman in Edmonton, Alberta. He was under Canadian monitoring when he cut off a leg bracelet and fled to Seattle.
Canada did not seek extradition of Stanley. He is a registered sex offender in Seattle.