A Redmond, Washington man accused of molesting at least two children at church events has been arrested a third time while also being suspected in four more incidents.
Buckland Darrell, 44, had groomed and molested children affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Redmond. Darrell's online presence on Flickr seems to focus on young boys. In 2020, he allegedly molested a 6-year-old boy while sitting next to him at a church service.
KIRO reports:
Redmond police re-arrested a man last week for allegedly having sexual contact with minors, the police department announced Monday.
Buckland Darrell, 44, was arrested on April 11 and charged with four counts of first-degree child molestation involving three victims. He is being held in the King County Jail on $500,000 bail.
Redmond police detectives previously arrested Darrell in March after he allegedly had sexual contact with a boy in 2020 while attending a church in Redmond. Darrell was also arrested for child molestation involving another victim in December 2022. He was released on bail in both cases.
According to Redmond police, the cases are all similar in that they involve boys under the age of 12, and the incidents happened near or in the presence of the victims' family members. The three most recent victims are also affiliated with the same Redmond church.
In late March, Redmond police said that Darrell may have groomed and assaulted more boys and asked anyone with information to contact the department. The investigation of the 6-year-old boy was initially closed as Statutory Referral Only.
King5 reports:
Statutory Referral Only is a referral to the prosecutor issued when there is reason to believe sexual abuse has occurred, but there is "no reasonable expectation that criminal charges can be filed."
However, three years later, the alleged victim came forward with more details. Now 9 years old, the alleged victim said Darrell abused him multiple times and was able to provide more details of the extent of the abuse to law enforcement.
Previously, Darrell was held on $200,000 bail, but now it's set at $500,000, and I'm not sure why it's not higher.
