Marysville schools employee accused of raping Arlington High girl

ARLINGTON — Police arrested a former Boys and Girls Club staffer and current Marysville schools employee Tuesday after he was accused of sexually assaulting an Arlington girl.

Christopher Lucas Carpenter, 36, faces allegations of second-degree rape.

In the Marysville School District, the suspect worked as a paraeducator and teacher at Quil Ceda Tulalip and Shoultes elementary schools, spokesperson Jodi Runyon said. He also coached boy’s basketball at Marysville Pilchuck High School.

”The Marysville School District is shocked and saddened to learn of these allegations, as the care and well-being of all children and youth in and out of our schools and the school district are of utmost concern,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Runyon noted the district “followed all appropriate procedures when hiring the individual the Arlington Police Department recently investigated, including fingerprint and background checks.” Those checks “did not discover anything concerning.”

At the beginning of the police investigation in August of last year, Marysville schools put Carpenter on administrative leave, according to the district.

When the Boys and Girls Clubs of Snohomish County hired Carpenter he “had a clean background check,” Chief Operating Officer Marci Volmer said in an email.

At his first court appearance Wednesday, Everett District Court Judge Anthony Howard found probable cause for the allegation. He set bail at $15,000.

In 2009, Carpenter, then in his early 20s, was working for the Boys and Girls Club, according to Arlington Detective Sgt. Rory Bolter’s report. He trained an Arlington High School student.

The teenage girl played sports at the Boys & Girls Club. As Carpenter befriended her there, he became increasingly involved in her life, Bolter wrote. He would often make comments about her body. Initially, she didn’t think anything of it.

On one of their training days, they reportedly worked on her strength and agility at Post Middle School in Arlington.

After that, Carpenter drove her to his house near Eagle Creek Elementary, she told investigators. They went in the house. Carpenter gave her whiskey, the detective’s report states. She thought Carpenter, who she knew as “Luke,” was a safe person.

But once she was intoxicated, Carpenter sexually assaulted her, according to police. She reported she told him “no” three times, but she couldn’t push him away.

Afterward, Carpenter told her not to tell anyone “or we’ll get in trouble,” according to Bolter’s report. Later that evening, Carpenter dropped her off at her house.

When the girl walked into her house, her mother smelled the alcohol on her breath. She reportedly told her mom about Carpenter giving her whiskey, but didn’t mention the sexual assault. For years, she didn’t tell anyone. She felt like it was her fault, she told police.

Her mom called the Boys & Girls Club. Management fired Carpenter for contact with a minor outside of work and transporting a minor outside of work in his personal vehicle, the Boys & Girls Club told Arlington police.

The mother gave authorities access to the laptop her daughter used in 2009. On it, there was a document titled “Summer 09,” according to police.

“I was going to work and volunteering every day. Seems innocent right? No, my boss began giving me alcohol every now and again and then every now and again … turned into everyday,” the document reportedly reads. “I knew that it was wrong, yet I had always had a soft spot for alcohol. So I continued to drink daily. I figure it was safe. I was with someone I had known forever, and I trusted him. However this life style came crashing down around me. Soon my boss that I had once trust began to sexually assault me. He was 23. So I ended all my ties with him and tried to forget about it.”

The daughter told police she wrote the document. She reported she was referring to Carpenter, the detective wrote in his report.

In August 2022, about 13 years after the alleged sexual assault, she reported it to police.

On Tuesday, Bolter knocked on the door of Carpenter’s home in Arlington. Bolter reportedly displayed his badge.

“I know who you are,” Carpenter responded, according to court papers.

The detective explained what he was investigating. Carpenter, 36, reported needing to talk to a lawyer before answering questions.

In court Wednesday, prosecutors asked Judge Howard to set bail at $100,000. The defense asked for $15,000.

Noting there haven’t been any more recent accusations, Howard sided with the defense.

If Carpenter posts bail, the judge ordered he have no contact with the alleged victim or children.

Jake Goldstein-Street: 425-339-3439; jake.goldstein-street@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @GoldsteinStreet.