A Battle Ground man faces up to life in prison for child molestation and rape after pleading guilty on counts for offenses dating back years.
On Dec. 3, Timothy Rowe, 39, pleaded guilty in Clark County Superior Court to first-degree rape of a child, first and third-degree child molestation and one other felony charge. He is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 14.
Rowe first appeared in court for the charges in October 2019. He initially faced more than a dozen charges including commercial sex abuse of a minor along with rape, molestation and other charges.
Court documents indicate there were three victims among the charges to which Rowe pleaded guilty. The abuse went back potentially as far as 2011, documents stated.
According to a probable cause affidavit for Rowe’s arrest, a friend of one of the victims had alerted a school counselor of the alleged abuse. According to the document, the victim had sexual contact with Rowe for the past several years. Following the friend’s alert, Child Protective Services and law enforcement got involved, with Rowe being arrested on Oct. 22, 2019.
According to the affidavit, the victim estimated the abuse happened about once or twice a month for five years, beginning when the victim was between 9 and 11 years old.
Alleged abuse included oral sex and sexual intercourse, with some of the details listed in the affidavit describing incidents involving the victim receiving money in return for the abuse.
In one instance, Rowe and the victim feared she had become pregnant as a result of the incidents, though a pregnancy test turned up negative, according to the affidavit. At the time of the filing of the affidavit, the latest incident was within a week prior.
Prosecutors are recommending at least 20 years imprisonment for Rowe with a maximum of life in prison.
At the time of his 2019 arrest, Rowe was the owner of Rowe’s Plumbing and Drain LLC. Business license information shows he has since been removed as one of the principal owners. The business’ website indicates it is under new management.
