Prosecutors say 52-year-old Ronald Williams raped a 14-year-old girl at this Auburn apartment Oct. 9.
At his arraignment at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent on Oct. 25, the Auburn man pleaded not guilty to the single charge of second-degree rape.
Superior Court Judge Jim Bowman agreed to a sexual assault protection order against Williams, specifying that pending trial, he have no contact either directly or indirectly with the girl he is alleged to have raped.
Williams is in jail on $150,000 bail.
The King County Prosecutor’s Office in recent weeks amended the original charges against Williams, which had been third-degree rape of a child, first-degree kidnapping and second-degree assault, to the single charge of second-degree rape.
Second degree rape is a class A felony.
“Additional aspects of this case are under investigation,” the prosecutor’s office explained in a statement to the Auburn Reporter on Oct. 19. “If applicable, we can amend the charges at a later time.”
Williams arraignment hearing shed no additional light on that decision, but the single amended charge would appear to call into question some major details of the original account as given to police.
Here is what Auburn Police wrote in their statement of probable cause, upon which the King County Prosecutor based its earlier charges.
At about 12:40 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9, Auburn officers responded to a call about a possible kidnapping and sexual assault in the 500 block of 37th Street Southeast. Officers found the victim, who reported that a felony had occurred at 537 37th St. SE.
The girl told police her attacker had stuck what she believed to be a gun in her back as she was walking to school, told her to cooperate and play nice and directed her to his apartment, where he raped her. Police say the girl picked up her attacker’s cellphone during a lull in the assault and called 911.
Police said shortly after they arrived and escorted the traumatized girl away, Williams barricaded himself in his apartment with a handgun and refused to come out, At that point, Valley Com dispatched negotiators and the Valley SWAT to the scene. Shortly before 5 p.m., Williams surrendered to police, without further incident. No shots were fired during the standoff.
