EVERETT — A Seattle police officer was charged with two felonies Thursday for allegedly molesting a former girlfriend’s daughter for years.
Eric Amadeo Smith, 57, sexually abused the girl starting when she was 7 and continued until she was 11, deputy prosecutor Kathy Jo Blake said in Snohomish County Superior Court papers. She charged him with two counts of first-degree child molestation.
The girl tried to get help when the abuse began, but Smith confronted her in front of her mother and the child recanted, court papers said.
Then, after a school health class in June focusing on inappropriate touching, the girl, now 12, raised her hand and asked “What if the person doing the touching is a police officer?” That led to a private discussion later between the girl and her teacher. The disclosures triggered an investigation by the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
Seattle Police Chief Kathleen O’Toole has suspended Smith without pay pending the outcome of the case.
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