Whatcom man with previous sexual assault conviction allegedly raped woman in November
A Maple Falls man with a previous sexual assault conviction is suspected of raping a woman he was familiar with on at least five occasions last November in Whatcom County.
Steven Ray Littlebear, 40, was transferred from the King County Jail in Seattle and booked into Whatcom County Jail Wednesday evening, Feb. 19, on suspicion of second-degree rape.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office was notified in December and investigated a sexual assault complaint against Littlebear, Chief Deputy Kevin Hester told The Bellingham Herald in an email, and found that Littlebear allegedly had non-consensual intercourse with a woman he knew at least five times over a 15-day period in the Maple Falls area.
After the investigation, Littlebear was served Wednesday with the probable cause for the alleged rape while in the King County Jail, where jail records show he was held since Monday for a parole violation.
Whatcom County Superior Court records show Littlebear was previously convicted of first-degree child molestation for a 2003 incident and he received an indeterminate sentence of 51 months to life in prison.
