Pacific County woman charged in child sex case

Published 4:32 am Tuesday, December 29, 2015

SOUTH BEND, Wash. — A Pacific County woman is accused of allowing a known sex offender to have access to a child.

According to a Pacific County Sheriff’s Office incident report, deputies on Dec. 14 arrested Mariah Lee McLaughlin on a warrant. McLaughlin, 28, is charged with first-degree child molestation, first-degree rape of a child, and three counts of leaving a child with a sex offender, according to Pacific County Jail records.

County Prosecutor Mark McClain confirmed that the allegations stem from an investigation of her brother, Christopher Scott McLaughlin, who in June pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a young child, and was recently sentenced to 35 years in prison.

McClain said Mariah McLaughlin is suspected of allowing her brother to be alone with the child, even though she allegedly knew that he was a convicted sex offender in Oregon, and allegedly knew that it was a violation of Washington state law to do so.

McClain declined to provide further details about the case, citing the need to protect the victim’s privacy.