A man who fondled two children at the Mountlake Terrace swimming pool in July pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of first-degree child molestation.
John Robert Cummings, 29, of Mountlake Terrace, is a convicted sex offender who could spend more than 16 years in prison.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Larry McKeeman is expected to sentence Cummings on May 1.
No matter what penalty McKeeman gives him, Cummings will face an indefinite sentence. That means a review board will examine his case to determine if he is safe to be released at the end of his term. If not, he can be kept behind bars until it is determined he is no longer a danger to the public.
Deputy prosecutor Mark Roe said Cummings pleaded to the crimes with which he was originally charged, and two 6-year-old children won’t have to testify at trial.
Roe said he will recommend the high end of the sentencing range, 16 1/2 years.
Cummings has five previous sex-charge convictions, all committed when he was a juvenile, Roe said. In addition, he was charged with first-degree child molestation in 2004, but the prosecutor’s office had to dismiss the charge because a young witness refused to testify, Roe said.
Mountlake Terrace detectives began investigating after the children – a boy and girl – told pool staff and police someone inappropriately touched them while they were swimming at the Recreational Pavilion on July 28.
Few adults were in the pool at the time, according to court records, and Cummings was in an area of the pool frequented by children.
The two young victims described the assailant to police.
Police were unable to identify the man from video surveillance taken inside the lobby. Employees, however, recognized the man, who returned to the pool a few weeks later and was seen swimming in the shallow end of the pool.
Cummings is being held without bail pending sentencing.
Jim Haley is a reporter with the Herald in Everett.
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