‘One of the most horrific, egregious cases’: Edmonds man pleads not guilty to child rape charges

An Edmonds man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to four counts of child sex crimes, including first-degree rape of a child, in allegations the prosecution called “one of the most horrific, egregious cases” to come before the court.

Roberto Rodriguez, 46, entered not guilty pleas through his attorney to all charges at his arraignment in King County Superior Court. He faces three counts of rape of a child in varying degrees and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

The charges span from December 2020 through January 2026.

Rodriguez posted $750,000 bail prior to the hearing. The judge ordered him to wear an electronic monitoring device and barred him from any contact with minors.

Rodriguez worked with victim since she was 5, court documents say

According to court documents, the girl and her family met Rodriguez when he was an employee of the Seattle Children’s Hospital. He worked with her at a summer program for the deaf, the documents said. The girl was 5 years old at the time.

“That fall, Rodriguez started working at the Madrona K-8 school in Edmonds, WA, as a paraeducator for the deaf and hard of hearing,” the documents said.

Her parents hired Rodriguez as a tutor when she was 7.

The alleged abuse started when she was 10, according to court documents. She is 15 now.

According to the certification for determination of probable cause, the alleged abuse happened at the girl’s home in Seattle.

The judge addressed Rodriguez’s attorney during Tuesday’s hearing.

“The victim should have been protected by your client, and the fact that he abused in the most horrific way the trust bestowed upon him is, frankly, extremely alarming,” the judge said. “Every now and then, when I think I’ve seen everything, there’s always a case that comes along that shocks me.”

The judge said he would have set bail higher than the amount prosecutors requested.

Advocate warns Rodriguez planned to take victim out of the country

A victim advocate speaking on behalf of the family told the court that evidence, including text messages and the child’s testimony, indicates Rodriguez had been “grooming and sexually abusing her for up to the last 10 years.”

“The level of premeditation, planning, and executing of these acts of abuse show a sophisticated level of cunningness and deceit,” Meredith Clark, a victim advocate with the City of Seattle, said. “We have fears of him trying to physically reach her while out on bail.”

Clark said Rodriguez had discussed plans to take the victim out of the country and had the means to do so.

The defense objected to the electronic monitoring requirement, citing the high bail amount, his client’s lack of criminal history, and the seizure of Rodriguez’s communication devices by police.

“He has no way of reaching the complaining witness in this particular case,” Connor said. “He has no intentions on doing so.”

The trial is set for March 23.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.

Follow @FrankLenziKIRO