Whatcom man jailed on child rape charge
A Semiahmoo man was being held at the Whatcom County Jail work center after his Nov. 11 arrest on suspicion of raping a child known to him.
Fredy Martin Esteban was being held in lieu of $8,000 bond on a charge of driving under influence and $200,000 for first-degree child rape, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed in Whatcom County Superior Court.
His arraignment was scheduled Friday, Dec. 2, according to court documents filed this week.
Martin Esteban was baby-sitting the 5-year-old child and a 10-month-old sibling in the house on Treevue Road in Semiahmoo while their mother was at work on Nov. 4, according to a statement from Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Julie Baker, who is investigating the case.
Baker’s statement said that she met the child’s mother at St. Joseph hospital, where a sexual assault exam was being performed Nov. 11.
The mother, who spoke through a friend who was translating, said the child had told her on Nov. 10 that they had been “hurt” by Martin Esteban on Nov. 4 and described a sexual assault that occurred on the child’s bed, Baker said in the probable cause statement.
