By Katherine Sather

Until about three years ago, Jim Hines’ life didn’t stray much from that of a successful Mercer Island High School graduate.

After graduation in 1978, he attended Seattle University and started a career in business. He began a family, made a home in Gig Harbor and was active in several non-profit organizations.

Events that occurred in his own neighborhood in 2003 transformed his life.

Hines is now a prominent lobbyist in Olympia who works for tougher penalties for sexual offenders. He’s currently gearing up for the next Legislative session, where he’ll ask the state to pass Jessica’s Law, which sets 25-year prison sentences for sex offenders who attack children.

“The state has turned our neighborhoods into the largest prison system for sex offenders,” he said. “Every year that they add more to the community, we, the parents, citizens and children, have more freedoms eroded.”

Hines lives in Gig Harbor, where he cares for two sons: Brendan, 13, and Brian, 11 who are both developmentally disabled. He has worked for the MARS candy corporation for 18 years. He had no experience in politics until 2003 when he was moved by the experience of his neighbor, Theresa Gibbs, whose former fiancé raped and molested her daughter. Because of a Washington law known as the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA), which suspends jail and prison time in lieu of counseling and treatment, her former fiancé was let back into the community.

He recalls that Gibbs begged the judge to send the man to prison, but to no avail.

“I was enraged, “ Hines said. “I felt like she didn’t have a voice. I felt responsible as a neighbor to let her know I cared. I didn’t think it would turn me into a big-time lobbyist.”

Hines wrote a letter to the Peninsula Gateway, the local newspaper, on behalf of a group that called themselves the Friends and Neighbors of Theresa Gibbs. In it, he detailed an idea that every person who rapes or molests a child should have a mandatory prison sentence. The editor of the Gateway encouraged Hines to contact legislators with his idea. He did.

With the help of Lois McMahan, R-Olalla, he drafted the Child Protection Act of 2004. It called for mandatory prison sentences for all sex crimes against children — a move which would have done away with the SSOSA program.

“Little did I know what I was in for,” he said, “It became a huge, hot-button issue in Olympia.”

When the bill looked like it would be killed, Hines went on radio programs, called press conferences and contacted past lobbyists for help. One of them was another Mercer Island resident: Former state rep. Ida Ballasiotes, now retired, served in the Legislature after her daughter was raped and murdered by a sex offender on work release. In 1990 she helped to enact the Community Protection Act, which requires sex offenders to register with the state when they’re released from custody. She describes Hines as “driven.”

Hines met with Helen Harlow, whose son was the victim of a brutal sex crime in Tacoma, and who started the Tennis Shoe Brigade. In the 1980s, her group brought thousands of pairs of children’s tennis shoes to the governor’s office to symbolize the innocence of children.

“We decided to re-launch the Tennis Shoe Brigade,” Hines said. “That pressure helped us get a hearing.”

Hines’ bill was passed, but amended. Some critics feared it would crowd the state prison system. While SOSSA still exists, the Child Protection Act makes it harder for some convicts to be eligible for its treatment options. Most recently the activist has focused on preparing for the January 2006 Legislative session.

“I’ve worked all summer on a series of ideas,” he said “It’s should be an interesting session this yea. It will be quite a battle.”

Al O’Brien, Chairman of the House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee, is working closely with Hines to push Jessica’s Law, which has been passed in Florida and Georgia. A number of states will consider the law this session. It mandates 25 years to life for any rape or molestation of a child younger than 12.

O’Brien has been impressed with Hines’ tenacity.

“He’s really driven,” O’Brien said. “He’s passionate about issues having to do with sex offenders.”

He said Jessica’s Law is important because its hard to convict sex offenders who are family members or close friends.

“Most people don’t realize 85 percent (of sex offenders) are within families. They’re family members, close associates of families like teachers, coaches, priests. It’s sometimes very tricky to handle those sex offenses,” he said.

Jessica’s Law also calls for GPS monitoring for sex offenders. Though 1,800 are registered in the state, including one Mercer Island resident, many fail to register. If the state continues to use its registry model, Hines wants penalties for those who fail to comply.

He recently launched a Web site to act as a home-base for his work and idea: www.preservechildhoodinnocence.com.

“I stay active because of news stories around the area, and the nation,” he said. “They just made me feel like they still have so much work to do. The laws are so lenient.”