Blake Hoffman of Battle Ground appears in Clark County Superior Court over charges including rape of a child June 27.
A Battle Ground man who at one time served as a volunteer at Daybreak Primary School has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for charges including first-degree child molestation.
Blake Hoffman, 19, was sentenced June 8 in Clark County Superior Court for a count of first-degree child molestation as well as a count of indecent liberties with forcible compulsion, according to court records. Hoffman pleaded guilty to the charges Feb. 6, having initially pleaded not guilty to original charges including molestation, rape and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
According to a probable cause affidavit for Hoffman’s arrest, in December 2018 the Issaquah Police Department alerted the Battle Ground Police Department of “inappropriate” photos on a minor’s phone allegedly sent by the suspect. Following interviews with the victim and their sibling, investigators determined that both children and Hoffman had been sending photos to each other.
Further interviews of the suspect had Hoffman admit that he had sexual contact with one of the victims, according to the affidavit. It stated the incidents occurred between May and November of 2018. According to the affidavit, the victims were 11 and 9 years old at the time of the incidents.
Though an affidavit was filed, Hoffman was not arrested for the charges, instead answering a summons and making a first appearance April 2, according to the state court database.
The charges against Hoffman were brought to light following a June 11, 2019, letter from Battle Ground Public Schools, informing student families that a former “lunch buddy” volunteer mentor was suspected of rape of a child.
The letter stated that the Battle Ground Police Department told the district there was “no indication” that any of the alleged activity occurred on school district property, adding that “as far as we know, this individual, while volunteering at the district, did not have any unsupervised access to any of the students.”
Previously district spokeswoman Rita Sanders had said Hoffman was not a volunteer with the district during the 2018-2019 school year.
