Three sex offenders have registered with Bremerton area addresses and the Bremerton Police Department wants residents to be aware of their presence in order to enhance public safety and protection.
The individuals have been convicted of sex offenses that require registration with the sheriff’s office in the county of their residence. Further, their previous criminal history places them in a classification level which reflects the potential to re-offend.
The sex offenders have served the sentences imposed on them by the courts. The Bremerton Police Department has been advised that of the offender’s locations. The men are not wanted by police at this time, but BPD stated that an informed public is a safer public.
The offenders include:
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Codi J. Cousins, 26, 5’11”, 210 pounds. Brown hair and green eyes. Cousins has registered with Kitsap County to reside in the 100 block of Acorn Street in Bremerton. According to official court documents, Cousins pled guilty to child molestation in the first degree and communication with a minor for immoral purposes in Kitsap County in 2012.
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William C. Richstad, 50, 5’10”, 150 pounds. Brown hair and brown eyes. Richstad has registered to reside in the 900 block of Washington Avenue in Bremerton. According to official court documents, Richstad pled guilty to three counts of rape in the first degree with a deadly weapon, two counts of kidnapping in the first degree with a deadly weapon, and one count of attempted kidnapping in the first degree in King County in 1991.
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Edward A. Jones Jr., 58, 5’9”, 147 pounds. Brown hair and hazel eyes. Jones has registered to reside in the 1,000 block of 9th Street in Bremerton. According to official court documents, Jones pleaded guilty in King County to attempted rape in the first degree in 1992.
The Bremerton Police Department has no legal authority to direct where a sex offender may or may not live. Unless court ordered restrictions exist, the offenders are constitutionally free to live wherever they choose.
Sex offenders have always lived in area communities but it wasn’t until passage of the Community Protection Act of 1990 (which mandates sex offender registration) that law enforcement even knew where they were living. In many cases, law enforcement is now able to share that information with residents. Citizen abuse of this information to threaten, intimidate or harass registered sex offenders will not be tolerated, BPD stated. Further, such abuse could potentially end law enforcement’s ability to do community notifications. BPD stated that the only person who wins if community notification ends is the sex offender, since sex offenders derive their power through secrecy.
For further information, contact the Community Resource Specialist at 360-473-5231 or the Warrants Division at 360-473-5374.
As of the date of this bulletin, there are 20,847 sex offenders who have registered as required (since Feb. 28, 1990) and are living in Washington State. 863 of these are registered to the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office living at County addresses, and of these, 229 are registered to addresses within the city limits of Bremerton.
