A man charged with raping his then-13-year-old daughter is expected to appear in court next week.
The 38-year-old man, who has been charged with two counts each of second-degree child rape and second-degree child molestation, is expected to be arraigned Jan. 12 in Yakima County Superior Court.
The Yakima Herald-Republic does not identify possible sexual assault victims, and is not publishing the suspect's name in order to protect his daughter's identity.
Yakima police began investigating the suspect after state Child Protective Services employees alerted them to the allegations, according to court documents.
During an interview at the Children's Advocacy Center, the girl described how she was molested and raped starting in late 2020, when she was 13, the affidavit said. At the center, child crime victims or witnesses are interviewed by a child forensic interviewer as police, prosecutors and social workers listen and observe from another room, in order to minimize the trauma of having to recount what happened multiple times.
During the interview, the girl said her father warned her after one incident that if she told anyone what happened, "it would be the downfall of their family," court documents said.
Investigators located the man on a warrant in a northeast Yakima home and arrested him after a two-hour standoff that involved the Yakima SWAT Team.
He is being held in the Yakima County jail in lieu of $30,000 bail.
Court records show the suspect has convictions for obstructing police, drunken driving, malicious mischief and unlawful possession of firearms.
