Accused child rapist captured in Pierce County after 2 years on the run

Juan Steagall-Martinez, an alleged child rapist, has been captured by Pierce County authorities after being on the run for approximately two years.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Office (PCSD) had been actively searching for him since last Thursday, asking for the public’s help with finding the accused child rapist.

“We end up being on a disturbance call, really no crime occurring,” Pierce County Sgt. Darren Moss, Jr. said. “And we find our guy just randomly like this.”

Steagall-Martinez, 53 — who also goes by “John” — was charged with one count of first-degree child rape and two counts of child molestation. Pierce County deputies claimed he sexually assaulted three young girls in a mobile home park.

He was considered a “good friend” of the girl’s family, who they had known for three years before the incident.

“He befriended the families that were there and then, over the course of several months, he had been molesting or raping one of the kids,” Moss told KIRO Newsradio Oct. 24. “That child came forward and then two additional victims were found at the mobile home park as well.”

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A warrant was issued for Steagall-Martinez’s arrest, but he disappeared before he could be caught. Steagall-Martinez was spotted by one of the victims’s mothers at Wapato Park on Oct. 25. She took a picture and called the police, but he jumped on a bus and fled before police arrived.

“After such a long time, we had believed he had fled to Mexico and, all of a sudden, the mother of one of the victims saw him in Tacoma Park just a couple weeks ago,” Moss told KIRO 7.

Our detectives need your help to locate child-rape suspect Juan Steagall-Martinez, 53

Charges:
Rape of a Child 1st Degree (1 ct)
Child Molestation1st Degree (2 cts)

He was recently spotted boarding a bus on Alaska St, near Wapato Park, in Tacoma pic.twitter.com/o0FRi4a18x

— Pierce Co Sheriff (@PierceSheriff) October 23, 2024

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On Tuesday night, a neighbor called 911 regarding a verbal domestic violence incident at the Olympic Village Apartments in Tacoma.

When deputies responded, they found Steagall-Martinez standing outside a unit repeatedly knocking on the door. A neighbor told responding deputies they believed Steagall-Martinez was kicked out by his roommate who lived in the complex.

One of the deputies immediately recognized Steagall-Martinez from a wanted poster for his arrest.

“This case has been cold for two years and we thought he may have been down in Mexico, but then, all of a sudden, he pops up in Tacoma, not very far from where the incident occurred,” Moss said.

Stegall-Martinez is also suspected in multiple other cases of child molestation when he worked as a maintenance man at the mobile home park.

“When we have a guy who knows he’s wanted for this and he’s out and about in public, we’re concerned he’s going to do it to somebody else, we can’t leave it to chance that he gets the opportunity to hurt another child,” Moss told KIRO Newsradio last week.

Stegall-Martinez was booked into the Pierce County Jail. He appeared in court on Wednesday afternoon for his first appearance hearing.

Bill Kaczaraba, MyNorthwest; James Lynch, KIRO Newsradio contributed to this story