A 50-year-old Aberdeen man has been arrested and charged with first-degree rape and first-degree child molestation.

Bail is set at $250,000. Maximum penalty is life imprisonment and/or a $50,000 fine. The man is a convicted sex offender and transient in Grays Harbor County.

Probable cause papers in Kitsap County Superior Court say on Feb. 22, 2022, one of the man’s stepdaughters reported a sex offense that happened about 19 years ago in Olalla when she was around 5. His previous conviction involved similar crimes against an older sister.

The stepdaughter said one molestation took place in their truck, and if she didn’t “want to act like a good kid” he would make her get out of the truck, sometimes using force. She showed officers pictures of scars to prove other abuse.

Court papers say the molestation also took place in the backyard playhouse. She was told not to tell her mom. A rape occurred when her mom was heavily medicated and sound asleep, and included putting duct tape over the child’s mouth, court papers say.

She said he molested or raped her between 15 and 30 times.

Her mom left the stepdad once she found out about the attacks on her older sister. Her mom told officers between the two they had 11 children. His ex-wife also lived with them for a time in Olalla.

A stepbrother said all the boys slept in one room and all the girls in another. There was only one bathroom. He recalled seeing the dad with the victim en route to the bathroom one night. He also said one of his brothers is in prison for a sex offense, court papers say.

Officers contacted the man’s family, who said they found handwritten documents about molesting a stepdaughter. The man’s psychological evaluation in 2004 described similar instances of abuse.