Kent Police (KPD) say they have arrested a person in connection with a 2013 sexual assault of a six-year-old child that occurred at a Kent business.
The assault took place on May 19, 2013.
According to police, a suspect entered the store, approached the child and sexually assaulted the child while the mother was at the cash register.
KPD says investigators got a break in the case on August 6, 2024, when DNA collected at the scene came back with a match to a 31-year-old Texas resident whose previous address was linked to Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM).
Investigators determined that the suspect was previously stationed at JBLM in 2013 and had also recently been convicted of a crime against a child in Texas.
It was that conviction that required his DNA to be collected and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) used by Kent Police.
Kent Police, working with the King County Prosecutor’s Office, was able to have the Brazoria County Sheriff’s Office in Texas arrest the suspect.
The suspect is currently awaiting extradition to Washington where he will face charges.
