This sex offender was considered a high risk. Kennewick police say he raped again

A convicted sex offender claims he thought a girl was older when he had sex with her in a bathroom last summer.

Skylar I. Nelson, 19, told a Kennewick detective he did not force himself on the girl, whom he believed was 14 or 15 years old, according to court documents.

The pre-teen girl disclosed the alleged rape to her grandmother in late August.

Now, Nelson is locked up on $500,000 bail for a charge of second-degree child rape.

He pleaded innocent Monday in Benton County Superior Court and is set for trial Nov. 12.

Documents show that the girl told investigators she met Nelson at a skate park and went with him to an apartment some time in August.

She said Nelson forced himself on her and yanked the hair on her head.

She went into graphic detail for investigators of what happened, court documents said.

Nelson reportedly was identified through social media. Police said he is a transient living in Kennewick.

In an interview Sept. 24 with Detective Kirk Nebeker, Nelson talked about befriending a group of young people, including the girl.

He admitted being alone with a girl in an apartment bathroom, but claims she went in there willingly, documents said.

Nelson was classified prior to this case as a Level 3 sex offender, meaning he was in the high-risk category to commit another sex crime.

He was 14 when police arrested him on four counts of child rape and one count rape by forcible compulsion. He was sentenced to about two years in the state’s juvenile system.

Since his release, he’s been charged twice with failing to register as a sex offender. The most recent filing came last week after his arrest on the new child rape case, court records show.

Kennewick police and Benton County sheriff’s deputies track sex offenders in the county. Level 2 and 3 offenders who are transient are required to check in weekly and are not allowed to go to public pools, parks, libraries or schools where children may be present.

This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 6:21 PM.