Bail is set at $100,000 for a man accused of sexually assaulting two children under the age of 12 in Centralia between 2013 and 2017.
Lane M. Walton, 23, of Aberdeen, was charged Aug. 23 in Lewis County Superior Court with four counts of first-degree rape of a child and four counts of first-degree child molestation.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The charges stem from a Centralia Police Department investigation that began after Child Protective Services referred a case to detectives for followup in January 2023, according to court documents.
One of the victims told investigators they did not report the sexual assault earlier because they were “confused, embarrassed and scared,” according to court documents.
When questioned by a detective, Walton allegedly said “what he had done to (the victims) ‘is the biggest regret in my entire life,’” according to court documents.
Walton allegedly disclosed details about the sexual assault to investigators that corroborated the victims’ accounts.
He was arrested and booked into the Lewis County Jail just after 1:35 p.m. on Aug. 22, according to jail records.
While defense attorney Rachael Tiller asked Lewis County Superior Court Judge Joely Yeager to set Walton’s bail no higher than $25,000 on Friday due to the age of the allegations, family support in the courtroom and Walton’s lack of criminal history, Yeager opted to grant the prosecution’s request for $100,000 bail.
“The allegations here are extremely concerning. They present a huge risk to community safety and to the alleged young victims,” Yeager said during Walton’s preliminary hearing in Lewis County Superior Court on Friday.
Yeager added that she put little value in Walton’s lack of criminal history because, in her experience, she said, “these types of things tend to happen in secret.”
In addition to setting bail, Yeager signed two separate no-contact orders, one for each victim, on Friday.
The orders prohibit Walton from having any contact whatsoever with the victims until the case is resolved.
Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 29.
