Judge issues sentence for Whatcom County man who admitted raping child
A Whatcom County man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly 10 years in prison for raping a middle school-aged girl he met online in 2021.
Steven James Moreau, 24, pleaded guilty in November to amended charges of second-degree rape of a child and first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Moreau previously pleaded not guilty to 11 felony charges: one count of second-degree rape of a child, two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes and eight counts of possession of depictions of a minor minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
According to court records, Moreau developed an online relationship with a 13-year-old girl he met through the younger sister — also 13 — of a girl he dated while in high school. He and the victim communicated through Facebook Messenger and began exchanging sexually explicit messages.
Law enforcement became involved after the girl’s father found her and Moreau, who was 20 at the time, having sex in his car on their property in December 2021. No arrest was made until Feb. 1, 2022, when the girl and her mother contacted the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office about the incident.
The girl told police that Moreau was aware of her age, though Moreau said in a mitigation and pre-sentencing report that he thought she was older. He also said he didn’t realize that dating a minor was illegal or that her age was “a big deal.”
Impact on victim, family
The victim and her family were present at Moreau’s sentencing in Whatcom County Superior Court. Both she and her mother shared in statements to the court that they have lived in fear of seeing Moreau in the years since his arrest, as he posted bail two days after he was booked.
“He will never understand the pain he put me in,” the victim said.
Her mother said the victim has struggled with mental health issues and bullying in school following the assault. She said the family had to move so that Moreau wouldn’t know where they lived.
“Every moment of her day is worry,” she said of her daughter. “The impacts last forever.”
Moreau’s attorney, Mark Kaiman, said his actions were due in part to an impulsiveness and impairments caused by his exposure to methamphetamine while in utero. Kaiman said that if Moreau had received the services he needed when he was younger, “history would’ve unfolded differently.”
Moreau offered an apology in the courtroom, and said he had no way of knowing the damages and harm he would cause.
Judge Robert Olson acknowledged that Moreau took accountability for his actions, sparing the victim and her family from having to go through a trial. He said Moreau’s actions showed a “horrific pattern of manipulation and abuse,” and that he hopes Moreau can take the time in prison to reflect.
He followed the agreed sentencing recommendation of 119 months in prison followed by a lifetime in community custody. His case will be brought before the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board before he is released into community custody. The board could decide to extend his prison sentence indefinitely.
Resources
▪ Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org. Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on-call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment.
▪ Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.
▪ 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.
▪ WWU Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-7982 or cwc.wwu.edu/survivorservices.