Thurston County prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old former lifeguard at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound with second-degree rape and third-degree child rape for an alleged sexual assault on a 14-year-old girl who was a guest at the waterpark resort.
Alex Salazar was formally charged May 15, the day after he allegedly raped the girl in his car, according to charging documents. He was arrested the afternoon of May 14 at Rochester High School, where he is a senior, the charges say.
According to court records, Salazar posted bail, which a judge set at $20,000, according to The Olympian newspaper.
A lieutenant at the Thurston County Jail confirmed Tuesday that Salazar was released May 15.
The Rainier, Ore., girl and her 21-year-old sister were at the resort with their parents and befriended Salazar while he was working in the lodge’s waterpark on May 13, charging papers say. Toward the end of the day, the 21-year-old gave Salazar her phone number.
Both the girl and her older sister told Salazar that the girl was 14, the papers say.
Later that night, Salazar texted the older sister and made arrangements to meet at the hotel, according to the papers.
A short time later, the sisters, Salazar and another friend met in the parking lot and the four climbed into Salazar’s car and talked, the papers say.
All four then went into the hotel’s arcade and after some time passed, Salazar and the 14-year-old decided to return to his car.
The girl “did not know Salazar intended to leave the property” and she “became uncomfortable when he drove away with her inside the car,” the papers say.
They ended up on a gravel road and started kissing, according to the charges.
The two got into the back seat and continued kissing, the papers say.
Salazar then sexually assaulted the girl and refused to stop when she attempted to push him off, charging papers say.
Salazar is “significantly bigger” than the girl, the paper say, noting that Salazar is 6 feet 4 inches tall.
After returning to the hotel, the girl “was visibly upset and immediately told her sister what had happened,” the papers say.
According to charging papers, Salazar told a sheriff’s deputy the girl had indicated she was 14, but he didn’t believe her.
He told the deputy the girl pressured him to have sex and that he stopped when she told him to, the papers say.
Salazar was initially arrested on investigation of third-degree child rape because detectives had questions about the amount of force used in the alleged sexual assault, Thurston County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said last week.
Though no weapon was used, Elwin said, investigators later determined that the girl was physically overpowered and raped for 15 to 30 minutes and suffered injuries consistent with sexual assault.
That information was presented to a judge last week, who found probable cause for the more serious charge of second-degree rape, Elwin said.
