TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - A Tallahassee man has been arrested, accused of threatening a witness in a child sexual battery case he is at the center of.
Willie Washington, 31, was arrested over the weekend.
According to a probable cause documents, on Aug. 16, officers began investigating accusations that Washington sexually assaulted a minor.
The victim said the sexual assaults started at the age of 9.
Washington would touch the victim under the guise that he "needed to check [the victim]," according to court documents, and repeatedly sexually assaulted the victim. Documents say Washington allegedly told the victim that what he was doing was okay because he wasn't the victim's biological father.
Eventually, the victim's mother found out what had been going on and Washington began threatening her, documents say.
When asked why police were called on Aug. 16, the victim stated Washington got into an argument with the victim's mother and threatened to have all of the kids taken if she said anything about the sexual allegations.
Court documents say investigators spoke to the victim's mother, who confirmed that Washington had been calling and texting her repeatedly about the case, trying to keep her from talking to law enforcement.
Investigators note that Washington tampered when he text the victim's mother five times, the most recent text saying, "If she says nothing... then you should't worry... if they have nothing, it will go away."
Based on the evidence, Washington was charged with five counts of tampering with a witness or informant. Police are still investigating the sexual assault allegations against Washington.
