SKAGIT COUNTY, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A convicted sex offender from Skagit County has been sentenced on federal charges.

Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller says that 72-year-old Alan Meirhofer was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison on Monday, June 2.

My Bellingham Now previously reported that Meirhofer is a level 3 sex offender who spent 17 years in civil commitment on McNeil Island before being released in 2017.

Following his release, Meirhofer befriended teens near his home in Skagit County by offering them gifts such as alcohol and marijuana.

In 2021, one of the teens borrowed Meirhofer’s phone and found child sex abuse images sent in various group chats.

Agents later learned that Meirhofer attempted to connect the teens with other sexual predators whom he knew.

Prosecutors noted that while he was committed to the sexually violent predator unit on McNeil Island, Meirhofer never attended treatment for sexual deviancy.