Convicted sex offender corners and rapes 12-year-old Tri-Cities girl, say police

A Kennewick sex offender is in jail after he cornered a 12-year-old in a bathroom and raped her.

Skylar Nelson, 19, and a Level 3 sex offender, formed a friendship with a group of young people including the young girl, said Kennewick Officer Roman Trujillo.

When Nelson was at an apartment with the girl, he sexually assaulted her, said Trujillo.

The attack was reported to police and Nelson was arrested Tuesday afternoon. He is being held in the Benton County jail on an investigative hold for second-degree child rape.

When sex offenders are released, officials give them a classification based on their possible risk to re-offend.

Level 3 offenders are considered by police the most likely to commit another sex crime. Nelson, a transient living in Kennewick, is one of nine with the riskier classification living in the city, Trujillo said.

He was 14 when police arrested him on four counts of first-degree child rape and one count of second-degree rape. Since his release, he’s been arrested twice for not registering as a sex offender.

Kennewick police and the Benton County sheriff’s deputies track sex offenders in the county, and Level 2 and 3 offenders who are transient are required to check in weekly and aren’t allowed to go to pools, parks, libraries or schools.

This story was originally published September 25, 2019 at 6:52 PM.