The House - Uncovering Child Predators in Washington State Communities
WINNER of 10 BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARDS! A small town fights back against corporate greed, state bureaucracy, and a plot to house the nation's "worst of the worst" sex offenders next to schools and playgrounds. A must-watch on private prisons & sex offender notification laws.
Selected for 32 film festivals and recipient of 10 Best Documentary Awards in 2025, The House exposes a shocking true story where a small rural town of 2,000 residents becomes the epicenter of national conversations on private prisons, sex offender recidivism, and community notification laws.
A greedy adult group home CEO attempts to buy up local property for a $1 million cash cow scheme: housing sexually violent predators from McNeil Island. As residents and county law enforcement raise alarms over a dangerous sex offender—a man who molested over 800 victims—state officials and bureaucrats shrug off security concerns, evade community notifications, and fabricate death threats to push their agenda. Concerns about nearby playgrounds, bus stops, and schools are callously ignored.
Witness the David vs. Goliath public media battle as the town's residents fight to protect their children and neighbors from becoming future victims, all while battling a system riddled with corruption and conflicts of interest.
The House is a powerful, must-see documentary using the lens of a small town to examine the ethical landscape of private prisons, the effectiveness of sexual assault laws, and the chilling extent of state bureaucracy when accountability is evaded.
Director Troy Kirby, a former professor at Saint Martin's University School of Business, brings over two decades of experience to his first full-length film. A former state legislative videographer for the Washington State House of Representatives and host/executive producer of Legislative Today on TVW Public Affairs, Kirby delivers a hard-hitting, deeply researched expose.
The film also details the history of victim's rights advocate Rep. Ida Ballasoites, whose daughter's 1988 murder changed state and federal law, leading to two U.S. Supreme Court decisions: the 8-1 verdict for civil commitment in 1999 and the 4-3 verdict upholding three strikes laws.