Bothell man arrested for sexually assaulting child visited apartment before

BOTHELL, Wash. — A man arrested for sexually assaulting a child at a Bothell apartment complex was reportedly arrested for visiting the complex before.

For nearly a year, detectives say the suspect was a frequent and unwelcome visitor in Bothell, returning to the Bailey Farm apartments over and over.

First, he was arrested for burglary and voyeurism.

But last week, detectives say it escalated - now facing charges for child molestation.

Residents here are grateful for an arrest but say they’re still in shock over the suspect’s alleged actions. Actions that span nearly a year.

“Ultimately I want to feel safe in my home. That’s how everyone wants to feel,” says Chelsea Clark, an apartment resident and concerned parent.

Parents who live here are desperate for a sense of security, especially after the unthinkable happened last Friday.

The suspect reportedly walked into an unlocked apartment in the middle of the night and sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl.

According to court documents, before fleeing the apartment, the suspect started to walk into the mother’s bedroom, said ‘oops’ and then shut the door. The mother then called 911.

Days later, officers arrested the 25-year-old man for those crimes. The man will face a judge next Tuesday.

Detectives say the suspect lives in Lake Stevens and had no connection to the victim or this apartment, yet they say that he continued to come to the complex again and again. However, he did recently take a job in Bothell, only about two miles away.

After police arrested the suspect for burglary and voyeurism at the complex last October, calls of him trespassing on the apartment grounds were reported five more times.

Lorraine Lynch with King County’s Sexual Assault Resource Center says an incident like what happened last week, impacts more than just the victim.

“It will create intense anxiety and worry, because that safe place has been violated, and it impacts families too,” says Lynch.

The suspect’s bail is set at half a million dollars, with continued concerns if he could bail out.

“I have two choices, I can be scared, or I can hope that they don’t return to the scene of the crime,” says Clark.

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