King County prosecutors have charged a 61-year-old Kent man with first-degree child molestation for allegedly touching a 4-year-old girl for sexual gratification.
Drew Hillery Garrett, reportedly inappropriately touched the girl on Sept. 4 when his wife left him in charge of a home daycare facility so she could go to a doctor’s appointment, according to charging papers. Christine Garrett runs the daycare out of their Kent home.
Drew Garrett is scheduled to be arraigned on Oct. 2 at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent, according to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He was booked and released on $75,000 bail on Sept. 19, according to county jail records.
A parent of the girl contacted Kent Police after the girl said Drew Garrett had touched her “bunnies,” a family term used to refer to buttocks. The girl was sitting on Garrett’s lap watching cartoons when the alleged incident occurred.
During an interview with detectives, Garrett admitted to inappropriately touching the girl, according to charging papers. He said it was the first time he had ever done something like this and denied sexually abusing the girl at any other time.
The name of the daycare is More Rainbows for Child Care, which is owned and operated by Christine Garrett.
The state Department of Early Learning suspended the facility’s license on Sept. 8 after the agency learned of a sexual abuse allegation, said spokesman Mark Varadian. He added that Christine Garrett has been licensed as a daycare provider since 2007. Drew Garrett isn’t a licensed provider.
Whether Christine Garrett gets her license back will depend on the outcome of an investigation and her role in the incident, Varadian said.
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