Lacey man accused of child rape, molestation

Police arrested a 27-year-old Lacey man Tuesday after he allegedly had sexual contact with his 10-year-old stepdaughter and her 6-year-old friend.

The man is being held in the Thurston County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. At a Thurston County Superior Court hearing on Wednesday, Judge Gary Tabor found probable cause for two charges: first-degree child rape and first-degree child molestation.

The Olympian doesn’t name suspects when doing so would make their victims easily identifiable.

Court documents give the following account of the events leading to the arrest:

On July 15, Lacey police responded to a Lacey home after a friend of the suspect reported that the suspect hadn’t shown up to work, and that he wasn’t answering the door or his phone. The friend had a key to the home, and opened the front door, which was blocked by a couch.

Officers entered the home and found a suicide note and wedding ring sitting on the kitchen table. The suspect was in the laundry room and had a gun.

Eventually, police were able to persuade the suspect to surrender the gun. The suspect, a soldier, was transported to Joint Base Lewis-McChord, where he was placed in psychiatric care.

On July 16, a Lacey police officer was contacted by a sexual assault clinic in Montana. Clinic staff told the officer that a 10-year-old Lacey girl had been staying with her grandparents for the summer, and she told them that she had been sexually assaulted by the suspect, her stepfather.

The girl reported that the abuse began about four years earlier, and that her stepfather frequently forced her to perform oral sex while her mother wasn’t home. She said that on more than one occasion, the stepfather also forced the girl’s 6-year-old friend to engage in sexual acts.

Officers contacted the younger girl, who said that she had spent the night at the family’s home, and the suspect made her touch his genitals.

The suspect was arrested by Lacey police after he was released from psychiatric care. He told police that on July 15 he was aware of the allegations made by his stepdaughter.

This story was originally published July 30, 2015 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Lacey man accused of child rape, molestation."