$300K Bail Set for Two Former Chehalis Men Accused of Raping Children in Separate Cases

The Chronicle - 2/4/2021

Feb. 3—Two unrelated cases of first-degree rape of a child that occurred in Chehalis are currently making their way through Lewis County Superior Court.

Both defendants had permanent addresses outside of Chehalis at the time charges were filed, and both allegedly abused children in their care over several years.

Both appeared in Lewis County Superior Court via live video from Lewis County Jail custody for preliminary appearances on Monday.

Clayton M. Bardwell, 36, currently of Rochester, faces two counts of first-degree rape of a child, two counts of first-degree child molestation, three counts of second-degree child molestation and one count of second-degree assault of a child for allegedly raping and molesting two young girls in his care between April 2016 and March 2019.

Law enforcement was first notified of the alleged ongoing child sexual abuse in March 2019, according to Lewis County Superior Court documents. The two victims, both under the age of 15 when questioned by police, disclosed that Bardwell had repeatedly touched them inappropriately and had at least on one occasion forced each victim to touch him. Both victims stated that the majority of the abuse occurred within their Chehalis home, and Bardwell allegedly told both victims to keep the ongoing incidents a secret.

Lewis County Superior Court issued a warrant for Bardwell's arrest on April 17, 2020, and set bail at $100,000. He was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 10:17 p.m. on Jan. 29. During his Feb. 1 preliminary court appearance, Judge James W. Lawler agreed with the prosecutor's request to raise Bardwell's bail to $300,000, citing an extensive history of burglaries and a prior out-of-state child sexual assault conviction, and issued protection orders for the two victims.

He is scheduled for arraignment and trial setting on Feb. 4.

The second case involves a Toledo man who was arrested and charged with first-degree rape of a child, first-degree child molestation and one additional felony charge for crimes that allegedly occurred seven to eight years ago after the victim, now an adult, reported the ongoing abuse.

The Chehalis Police Department was called on Sept. 28, 2020, to investigate a potential child molestation that occurred repeatedly from 2011 through 2014 in a residence in Chehalis. The victim reported that Jared N. Collins, 42, sexually assaulted her.

Lewis County Superior Court issued a warrant for Collins' arrest on Dec. 30, 2020, and set bail at $300,000. He was arrested by the Washington State Patrol for driving under the influence and was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 12:50 a.m. on Jan. 30. He had a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on Feb. 1 and is scheduled for arraignment and trial setting on Feb. 11.

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Editor's note: This article was edited after publication Feb. 3 to remove information that could potentially be used to identify the victim.

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