Washington sex offender caught allegedly traveling to sexually assault teen
Jun 20, 2024, 3:09 PM | Updated: 3:28 pm
Three men face charges in Benton County (Photo: @bloomsberries/Flickr Creative Commons)
(Photo: @bloomsberries/Flickr Creative Commons)
A 27-year-old registered sex offender from Washington was captured in Oregon earlier this month while allegedly traveling to sexually assault a teen.
According to a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Western District of Washington Thursday, James Harrison Newcomer allegedly removed his electronic monitoring device and met and assaulted three different teens between February and April 2024. The criminal complaint stated Newcomer met the teens through Snapchat.
The DOJ stated Newcomer was on state supervision following a 30-month prison sentence for two counts of rape of a child and was subsequently issued an ankle monitor.
Newcomer escapes custody, allegedly assaults 3 girls in 3 months
On Jan. 19, Newcomer’s ankle monitor lost its connection and when officers went to arrest him on Jan. 25, he was nowhere to be found.
Over the next three months, Newcomer connected with various teen girls and arranged to meet them in person, according to the DOJ. In the meetings, he allegedly gave the girls drugs and alcohol and sexually assaulted them. The girls were from Snoqualmie, Auburn and, most recently, Woodburn, Oregon. Their ages ranged from 14 to 16.
Court documents from the DOJ show Snapchat messages where Newcomer also allegedly tried to coerce one of the girls to engage in sexual activities with him on a cam site to make money.
Newcomer was arrested on June 7 in Kent and is currently in custody for his Department of Corrections (DOC) violations.
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Newcomer raped girl in 2020
Court documents stated in July 2020, Newcomer raped a 15-year-old girl when he was 24 years old. He was posing as a 17-year-old boy.
Newcomer drove from King County to Clallam County and picked up the girl near a bed and breakfast where she was visiting with her family. He drove around for five minutes, pulled over and sexually assaulted her. He then gave the girl alcohol and marijuana and drove her to his parents’ King County home where he lived. He snuck the girl into his home and sexually assaulted her around 10 times over several days before she was recovered by law enforcement.
More on the charges Newcomer faces
The DOJ stated that travel with the intent to engage in sexual acts with a minor is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. However, the charges in the complaint are only allegations, the agency stated.
The case is being investigated by the FBI, the Woodburn Police Department, the Marion County District Attorney’s Office, the Auburn Police Department, the Snoqualmie Police Department and the Kent Police Department, with the assistance of the DOC.
Anyone with information regarding other potential victims is urged to contact the Seattle FBI Field Office at (206) 622-0460.
Newcomer was set to appear in U.S. District Court in Seattle Thursday afternoon, according to the DOJ.
Julia Dallas is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read her stories here. Follow Julia on X here and email her here.
