Yakima police arrested a man charged with raping his daughter following a two-hour standoff Wednesday evening.
U.S. Marshal's deputies and Yakima police went to a home in northeast Yakima after learning the 38-year-old man was there around 8:30 p.m., YPD spokesperson Yvette Inzunza said. Yakima SWAT was called out to assist due to the man's prior convictions for firearms possession, and he surrendered without incident after two hours, Inzunza said.
The man is charged with two counts each of second-degree child rape and second-degree child molestation.
The Yakima Herald-Republic is not naming the suspect in order to protect the identity of his daughter, a possible sex-crime victim.
State Child Protective Services employees alerted police to the allegation that the suspect's daughter had been sexually molested by her father, according to a probable cause affidavit.
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.
After one incident, she said her father told her not to tell her mother what he had done, or "it would be the downfall of their family," the affidavit said.
During the suspect's preliminary appearance hearing Thursday in Yakima County Superior Court, Deputy Yakima County Prosecuting Attorney Bret Roberts argued that the $100,000 bail set in the warrant be maintained, as it was appropriate for a case of this nature.
Roberts also pointed to the suspect's criminal record, which includes convictions for obstructing police, drunken driving, malicious mischief and multiple convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm.
Defense attorney Beth Wehrkamp argued for a significant reduction in the bail, saying that the suspect denied the allegations and the victim's accusations may be the result of manipulation by other family members.
Judge Richard Bartheld set bail at $30,000, and ordered the suspect to not have contact with the victim or any other child, including his other children. As Bartheld issued that order, the suspect was seen on a court monitor shaking his head.
