Man pleads not guilty to molesting girl in library bathroom

BY Brandi Kruse  on February 14, 2013 @ 2:33 pm (Updated: 2:38 pm - 2/14/13 )

A sex offender accused of assaulting an 11-year-old girl in the restroom of Enumclaw Public Library pleaded not guilty Thursday in King County Superior Court in Kent.

Travis Lear remains in jail on $1 million bail while he faces charges of first-degree child molestation and kidnapping.

King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg said his office will make a special filing in the case that seeks to give Lear a mandatory prison sentence of more than 25 years if convicted.

"There's special law in place that's been on the books for about six years involving stranger attacks on children," Satterberg said. "Those are extremely rare but also obviously very serious."

Lear is accused of forcing the girl into the library restroom on Jan. 30 and groping her. According to court documents, he told her to remove her clothing and threatened to kill her.

He was later identified by the girl's father, who saw him after the attack, and through library video.

Lear was required to register as a sex offender after pleading guilty in 2008 to child rape involving a 14-year-old.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (3)


  • Add A Comment

  • Zoeller wrote...
    Time to bring back castration.
    February 14, 2013 2:00 pm
    In 1778, Thomas Jefferson wrote a bill in Virginia reducing the punishment for rape from death to castration.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • iamsittinghere wrote...
    - child rape in 2008???
    February 14, 2013 2:20 pm
    and he is OUT in 2013?? Sounds like he already is owed 20 something years in prison!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    Time to bring back castration.
    February 14, 2013 6:23 pm
    did it work for U ?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }