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Snohomish rapist surrenders in Arkansas

By Jackson Holtz
Herald Writer

SNOHOMISH -- Sabrina can rest easy again.

The man who raped her, David J. Torrence, a homeless sex offender who became a fugitive from justice, surrendered to police in Arkansas on Friday.

Torrence will be brought back to Washington to face state or federal charges, officials from the U.S. Marshals Service said.

"I'm very relieved," said Sabrina, 29, who asked that her last name not be used.

She was 15 in 1995 when Torrence grabbed her off a south Everett street, threatened to shoot her and then raped her.

When Torrence was released from prison on April 20 after serving a year for failing to register as a sex offender, he was ordered to sleep under a bridge over U.S. 2 in Snoho­mish. Three days later he cut off his GPS tracking bracelet. State Department of Corrections officials issued a nationwide warrant for his arrest.

They contacted federal marshals to activate a nationwide system to try to find the 43-year-old high-risk sex offender, spokesman Chad Lewis said.

"We're happy because this is a really good example of the strong relationship we have with federal, state and local law enforcement when it comes to arresting violators," he said.

Federal agents in the Northwest sent leads to police in Arkansas that Torrence may have fled there to live with his mother, said supervising deputy Tom Lanier, a U.S. Marshals Service spokesman.

On Friday, police learned that Torrence may have been planning to try to get away. Torrence's relatives apparently convinced him to surrender instead, Lanier said. The man who has served multiple prison terms for failing to register as a sex offender turned himself in to the Ouachita County Sheriff's Department in Camden, Ark.

When he is returned to Washington, officials will determine which charges will bring the most time behind bars, Lanier said.

For Sabrina, that means her life can return to normal. She can sleep better and will be more at ease leaving her home, she said.

"I hope they lock him up for a long time," she said. "That's where he belongs."

Reporter Jackson Holtz: 425-339-3437 or jholtz@heraldnet.com.