Whatcom man with previous sexual offense suspected of raping 8-year-old child 6 years ago
A Blaine man previously convicted of a sexual offense is suspected of raping a child he was familiar with six years ago when she 8 years old.
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday, Dec. 16, booked Ronald Allen Steinbach, 61, into Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree child rape. Jail records show he is being held in lieu of $90,000 bail.
Deputies were alerted Oct. 1 after the now 14-year-old girl’s mother in Oregon called 911 to report the sexual assault that occurred approximately six years earlier, according to Whatcom County Superior Court documents. The mother had learned about the incident from her now 11 year-old son.
The mother reported that six years earlier near the holidays, Steinbach picked up the children from a Whatcom County camp, documents state. After getting them food from a local fast-food restaurant, Steinbach reportedly went to a massage parlor in Bellingham, but the kids were not allowed inside, so the drove to his home at the time on East Pole Road.
Steinbach took the kids in his home to show them a Pez dispenser, asked the son to go outside to play and then sexually assaulted the daughter when they were alone, before the son came back inside and surprised Steinbach, according to court documents.
A warrant was issued for Steinbach’s arrest on Thursday, court records show, and he is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 30.
Court records also show that Steinbach was awaiting a Feb. 7, 2022, jury trail on a charge of failure to register as a sex offender.
Court documents in that case state that Steinbach was convicted in 1984 of first-degree statutory rape.
Resources
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:
▪ Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.
▪ Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.
▪ Tl’ils Ta’á’altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/
▪ Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.
▪ WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org.
