On Tuesday, April 14, detectives with the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office, in close collaboration with the Pacific County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, traveled to Western State Hospital to take a suspect into custody for three counts of first-degree rape of a child, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The arrest follows a complex investigation into incidents that originally occurred in August 2023, according to the release.
The investigation began in January 2024 after the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a sexual assault involving an 11-year-old victim. The assault was reported to have occurred at a residence in Raymond while the victim and her brother were staying with relatives.
Following the service of search warrants and extensive interviews with the victim, witnesses and the suspect, detectives established probable cause for the arrest of a 41-year-old man,who was a family acquaintance, according to the sheriff’s office.
During the initial investigation, the suspect provided conflicting statements to law enforcement, but eventually admitted to multiple instances of inappropriate physical contact with the victim, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect, who was not named in the news release, was subsequently arrested and charged with three counts of first-degree rape of a child.
Shortly after the initial charges were filed in 2024, a competency evaluation was requested for the defendant. The court subsequently deemed the defendant not competent to stand trial. On Oct. 11, 2024, the Pacific County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed an order to dismiss the charges without prejudice, directing a civil commitment evaluation. Since that time, the defendant has been housed at Western State Hospital.
Earlier this month, the state Department of Social and Health Services notified the Pacific County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office that the improvement of the defendant’s mental state was such that he was slated for placement in a less restrictive outpatient treatment facility in the community.
To ensure public safety and the continuation of the judicial process, the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office sought to refile charges. On April 1, a Pacific County Superior Court Judge signed an arrest warrant for the defendant with bail set at $250,000.
Upon his discharge from Western State Hospital on Wednesday, Pacific County detectives executed the warrant and transported the defendant to the Pacific County Jail. A new competency evaluation has been requested to determine if the defendant can now proceed to trial for the original three counts of first-degree rape of a child.
