Assault on teen inmate examined

King County officials are investigating why guards at the Seattle juvenile detention center didn't prevent a 15-year-old boy from sexually assaulting another teenage inmate last week.

King County Jail Capt. Troy Bacon said it's rare for sexual assaults to occur among the nearly 120 inmates at the Youth Service Center.

"Typically the inmates are under surveillance all the time," Bacon said.

The suspect was charged Tuesday with second-degree rape for the alleged Aug. 23 attack of the other 15-year-old boy.

According to a Seattle police report, the assault happened while the two boys were assigned to clean up a communal hall. When the victim entered a closet to get a broom, the suspect restrained and then fondled him, the report said.

The suspect, who according to court documents is 5 feet 10 inches tall and 225 pounds, is not being named because he has been charged in juvenile court and The Seattle Times does not normally name juvenile defendants. A Sept. 10 court hearing will determine whether he will be charged as an adult.

Bacon said the teen suspect is being held in solitary confinement while Seattle police and jail staff investigate.

"Right now he's pending a criminal investigation," Bacon said. "Once that's complete, the Department of Adult and Juvenile Detention will determine if there's any misconduct by staff and determine whether any disciplinary action should be taken."

Bacon said that when the teen was booked into the jail earlier this summer he was evaluated as to whether he should be held away from other inmates because he had been arrested for other sex offenses. But the teen was held among the general population.

On July 7, the teen was charged in King County Juvenile Court with two counts of first-degree child molestation and first-degree burglary with a sexual motivation, stemming from two previous incidents.

In one, the teen allegedly sneaked into his neighbor's Shoreline home on June 1 to molest a 4-year-old boy, according to charging documents. He found the boy asleep in his mother's bed and fondled the child.

While investigating the case, the suspect's mother told a King County sheriff's detective that her son might have molested a 5-year-old girl who also lived nearby. The girl told authorities that the suspect fondled her, then exposed himself, according to court charging papers.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com