A registered sex offender accused of having sexual contact with a 14-year-old Prairie High School classmate has pleaded guilty to third-degree rape of a child.
Jeremiah C. Thompson, 19, entered his plea before Clark County Superior Court Judge Diane Woolard on Aug. 8.
He will be sentenced Sept. 7 and faces between 12 and 14 months in prison.
Thompson was arrested after the girl told deputies that Thompson took her to his house on April 12 and had sexual intercourse with her. They’d met at a WinCo Foods store close to their school.
A senior at Prairie at the time, Thompson had a long record of violations with the law. His case sparked media attention last spring because students and parents hadn’t been made aware of his status as a registered sex offender while he was attending the school.
While staff knew of Thompson’s status, the school district cited a state law that precludes school officials from releasing information about a student’s criminal record. However, Thompson had personally told some of his classmates, his mother told The Columbian in an email Thursday.
Thompson’s criminal history includes a conviction in February 2010 for sexually assaulting his mother. He also accepted a plea deal that year — to a misdemeanor charge of communication with a minor for immoral purposes — relating to allegations he molested a 7-year-old girl.
As part of a plea bargain in Thompson’s current case, prosecutors agreed to drop the aggravating factor of his criminal history in exchange for his guilty plea.
The third-degree rape of a child charge relates to the victim’s age; for a third-degree rape conviction, the victim must be 14 or 15.
Thompson is being held in the Clark County Jail on a no-bail hold pending sentencing.
