Transient man arrested for alleged sexual assault of teenage girl in Sudden Valley

BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A transient Bellingham man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl is now in custody.

Whatcom County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Deb Slater said she received a report on May 21 that a 15-year-old girl had been raped in Sudden Valley two weeks earlier.

The victim said she met a man on social media earlier this month who told her he could give her alcohol, and they planned to go hiking in the woods on May 6 when the assault happened.

The victim said she did not know the suspect's name, but gave detectives a photo of him and details about his social media account.

Detectives later identified the suspect as John Rodgers, 24, on June 2, who was identified as a former Whatcom County Jail inmate.

Data from a search warrant on Rodgers' social media account revealed that he knew the victim was a minor and confirmed the dates and times of the incident as reported. Surveillance video also showed Rodgers stealing two bottles of alcohol from a convenience store the same day as the alleged incident.

Rodgers was found at a homeless shelter in Bellingham on Monday, July 1, where he was arrested on charges of rape, robbery, offering alcohol to a minor and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

He remains in the Whatcom County Jail without bail.