Bail was set at $2 million Friday for an Arlington man suspected of raping and molesting as many as a dozen young women and girls, some barely old enough for elementary school.
James Isaiah Spear, 18, allegedly told Snohomish County detectives he has sexually abused girls for years, including incidents when he held them down and raped them, according to a probable cause statement police filed in Everett District Court.
Detectives with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office said in court papers that Spear has admitted scores of sexual contacts with three girls, ages 6 to 15, as well as forcible rapes involving a number of women.
Some of the girls have been interviewed by detectives, but investigators have yet to talk to eight young women who they suspect were raped, deputy prosecutor Mark Roe told Judge Thomas Kelly during a brief hearing.
Roe said $2 million bail was appropriate because “most of these are violent acts.”
Spear was booked into the county jail in Everett for investigation of one count of first-degree rape, 10 counts of first-degree child rape and five counts of first-degree child molestation.
No charges have been filed.
Detectives are concerned there may be other unreported rapes or attacks, sheriff’s Lt. Jeff Brand said.
Over the years, Spear allegedly has crawled through windows and used force, including wrestling “submission holds” to control victims, Brand said.
The sheriff’s office is looking at some unsolved cases here to see if there may be a link, he said.
Detectives on Friday also said they are seeking help from the public and police, from King County to Bellingham, to learn more about attacks that may share similarities.
To aid in that process, they released details about Spear and the vehicles he has driven in recent years.
Spear is white and has red hair. He stands about 6 feet tall and has a slender build.
He has been known to drive a black Honda Civic, a black Jeep Wrangler and a blue Toyota pickup, Brand said.
The sheriff’s office asked people with information about similar cases to contact detective J. Funston at 425-388-6336.
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