A convicted rapist incarcerated in a state prison recently filed a lawsuit against the Island County Sheriff’s Office over alleged violations of the Public Records Act, according to court documents.

Shannon “Shawn” Stover, formerly a Vancouver, Washington resident, impersonated a police officer as a ruse to kidnap and rape women, according to The Columbian newspaper. Under a plea bargain to avoid a “third strike,” he pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court in 2017 to unlawful imprisonment, intimidating a witness, unlawful possession of a firearm and two counts of attempted third-degree rape.

A judge sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

In the lawsuit, filed pro se in Island County Superior Court April 11, Stover claims that the county repeatedly violated the state Public Records Act and still hasn’t filled his request from 2022. The Public Records Act requires agencies to make records available to the public with limited exemptions.

Stover, who is in prison in Monroe, is asking for a court to order the sheriff’s office to produce the records as well as pay statutory penalties, costs and attorney fees.

In August 2022, Stover mailed a public records request to the Island County Sheriff’s Office for information related to jail staff, including names, birth dates, ranks, internet search histories and computer user names.

Island County staff responded with five names of contracted nurses with redacted birth dates and an explanation of the redactions, as required by law.

The county further advised him that his request was forwarded to IT and Human Resources for further consideration and fulfillment. The lawsuit claims that the county didn’t have a date of when the response was expected, a requirement of the law.

A year later, Stover hadn’t heard back and sent a letter asking about the status of his request, the lawsuit states. Three weeks after that, he submitted a new records request, following by another letter inquiring about the status of the requests.

Island County finally responded on Sept. 8, the lawsuit states, with the names of jail officials, but none of the other documents he requested. A couple of weeks later, he received another letter from the county apologizing for the delay and requesting clarification.

In November 2023, Stover sent a letter to the county clarifying his request, but he hasn’t heard from the county since, the lawsuit alleges.