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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man accused of sex with teenager released on bail

A 64-year-old Spokane man is out of jail on bail after being arrested Thursday for having sex with a 15-year-old girl who had been living with him.

Donald E. Evans, considered a family friend of the victim, is accused of having sex with the girl since she was 12 years old, court records state.

Evans is also accused of taking pictures of the girl naked and of the two having intercourse, court records state.

Evans was investigated in 2001 for allegations made by the same girl, who was 12 at the time. Prosecutors did not have enough evidence to charge him at that time, said Dick Cottam, Spokane police spokesman.

Cottam said detectives continued to investigate Evans after the first allegation, on suspicion he was maintaining a relationship with the girl.

“This time (detectives) have hard proof,” Cottam said.

Detective Jerry Keller made contact with the victim on June 22, while working undercover in an Internet chat room. He was contacted with an instant message from a person with a screen name of “sweetlilcowgirl1,” court records state.

The detective identified himself as a 13-year-old girl, and the victim said she was 19 years old. The victim told the undercover detective posing as a young girl that she was bi-sexual, and she sent photographs of herself to the detective, court records said.

The girl, calling herself “Liz,” also gave the detective her phone number, which was registered in Evans’ name, court records state.

Detective Keller recognized the girl from a video in 2001, when she was 12 and had made allegations against Evans, court records said.

On June 23, a female detective working undercover called the victim at the phone number she provided. During the conversation, the girl said that her boyfriend, later identified as Evans, encouraged the girl to have sex with other young girls, court records said.

On July 1, the victim sent another picture to the undercover detective, this time of the girl “with her breasts exposed,” court records said. The girl said that her boyfriend took that picture, while she was sitting in his white 2003 Dodge Stratus in the parking lot at Silverwood Theme Park.

The detective drove past Evans’ residence at 6117 N. Cambridge Drive, and saw the same vehicle parked in the garage, court records said.

The female detective set up a meeting with the girl Wednesday at Lilac Lanes bowling alley in north Spokane. When the girl arrived, she was taken into custody.

The girl said that Evans knew she was 15, that she had been living with him off and on for about a year and that the two had been having sex since she was 12, court records said.

The girl told the detective that she had sex with Evans on Tuesday, during which time he took six pictures of her. She carried a digital camera with the pictures on it, court records state. he girl also said that Evans took over 100 pictures of her naked and of them having intercourse, and he stored them on his home computer.

Evans was arrested Thursday on charges of third-degree rape of a child and sexual exploitation of a minor, Cottam said.