Sex offender seeks civil commitment

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YAKIMA, Wash., March 3 (UPI) -- A man who served six years in a Washington state prison has asked to be returned to custody because he cannot control himself.

Michael Robert Lewis, 47, is being held in jail on a charge of failing to register as a sex offender in 2006, the Yakima Herald-Republic reported. A hearing on his request to be sent to the state's facility for sex offenders who have completed prison terms was postponed Monday to give his lawyer time to review court papers.

Lewis spent almost six years in prison after being found guilty in 1990 of molesting a 3-year-old boy. Investigators said that he admitted a long history of pedophilia going back to the age of 9, saying he had molested 20 victims, according to court papers.

Since his release from prison he has been charged with indecent exposure and with failing to register as a sex offender.

In August, Lewis wrote the Yakima County Sheriff's Office, asking for civil commitment.

"I'm not fit to be released," he said.