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Investigation of alleged child rape on Pierce County ferry leads to search and arrest

PIERCE COUNTY, Wash. — A 34-year-old man suspected in an alleged sexual assault of a child on the Pierce County Ferry was arrested Friday by Pierce County Sheriff’s investigators.

The victim, a 7-year-old boy, was lured into a bathroom stall on the ferry, said sheriff’s spokesman Darren Moss. The incident was captured on surveillance video.

“The suspect kind of tricked him,” Moss said.

The video and other information led investigators to an address on Anderson Island, where they served a search warrant, located the man and arrested him without incident. He was booked into the Pierce County Jail on suspicion of first-degree child rape and second-degree kidnapping.

Investigators are still researching the man’s background, but haven’t found much yet, apart from past residence in Massachusetts, Moss said. An arraignment is scheduled for Monday in Pierce County Superior Court.

This story was originally published by The News Tribune.