BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is fighting to prevent a sex offender from being released back into Whatcom County after serving 10 years in prison.

38-year-old Jake Unick was convicted in 2014 after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree attempted kidnapping with sexual motivation and one count of first-degree kidnapping.

The charges stemmed from several instances where Unick tried to kidnap a woman and young girls in Bellingham, using pepper spray in some cases to blind his victims.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and is set to be released on Thursday, Sept. 5.

Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a petition on Tuesday, Sept. 3, urging a judge to have Unick committed to the state’s confinement facility for sexual predators on McNeil Island.

The Attorney General’s Office is citing the state’s Sexually Violent Predator law that allows them to file the petition against violent sex offenders who pose a danger to society if they are released.

A judge will hold a probable cause hearing on the petition in the coming weeks in Whatcom County Superior Court to determine whether to prevent Unick’s release pending a trial.