CENTRALIA, Wash. – The Chronicle News in Centralia reports a Port Angeles man accused of inappropriately touching a 12-year-old girl at a Halloween party in Centralia in 2022 and sexually assaulting the same girl in 2018 is now in custody at the Lewis County Jail for first-degree attempted child molestation and fourth-degree assault charges.
A Lewis County Superior Court Judge issued a $100,000 arrest warrant for the man, identified as 32-year-old Zachary Schott of Port Angeles, on Sept. 14. Schott turned himself in on Oct. 2 and was booked into the Lewis County Jail that day.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges on Tuesday, Oct. 3. A hearing to set trial dates is scheduled for Oct. 12.
The Centralia Police Department, the Port Angeles Police Department, the Kent Police Department and Pierce County law enforcement were all involved in the investigation, according to court documents.
Schott is also facing first-degree rape and first-degree child molestation charges out of King County due to similar alleged offenses.
In a March interview with Kent police, Schott allegedly admitted to committing the sexual assaults and “said that he was a ‘child molester’ and deserved to go to prison for ‘three to four years,’”.
A no-contact order protecting the girl is in place.