SEATTLE — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
A 46-year-old man who’s accused of assaulting a 5-year-old girl at a Seattle homeless camp has been released from jail because King County prosecutors haven’t filed charges yet.
Under Washington law, a person must be released from jail after 72 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, if no charges have been filed.
“Right now, there are inconsistencies with the available evidence, but prosecutors from King County are working with Seattle Police to find additional information that can address that,” Casey McNernthey, a spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, said. “There’s also pending forensic evidence that’s being processed right now.”
The girl was examined at Harborview Medical Center after the alleged assault.
Court documents reveal details of sexual assault
According to probable cause documents, the 5-year-old girl disappeared from her family at a communal gathering spot at a city-sanctioned homeless camp, Tent City 3, on Friday.
The child’s mother told the Seattle Police Department that, when the girl reappeared, she complained about pain in her private parts. Police took her to Harborview Medical Center, and they arrested a resident of the camp who had been seen attempting to lure the child.
Court documents showed the girl identified the man as the person who assaulted her.
The man was being held on suspicion of first-degree child molestation and kidnapping with sexual motivation. Bail was set at $750,000 as police gathered more evidence.
McNerthney said the tent city resident who initially called police reported that the victim was 9 years old, but the child’s mother confirmed to police that she’s 5 years old.
“I think what’s encouraging is that there were other people in the tent city who reported it to police and who were cooperative with police investigators,” McNerthney said.
The suspect does not appear to have a lengthy criminal record in King County.
“The last time that we saw this person was in 1999,” McNerthney said. “There was a conviction for armed robbery in December of 1999. That’s the last time that the King County Prosecutors had any contact with him.”
Read more of Heather Bosch’s stories here.
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