Man accused of molestation caught

A man from Mexico accused of molesting a teenage boy in Pullman was taken into custody after a nationwide warrant was issued for his arrest.

Pullman police found 33-year-old Juan Trejo Perez at Pullman Building Supply on Monday morning. Sgt. Greg Umbright said he was hiding in a changing room at the store.

Trejo Perez contacted the department earlier that morning asking to meet with officers, Umbright said, but he didn’t show. Police tracked him down and apprehended him without incident.

A nationwide arrest warrant was issued for Trejo Perez after he skipped court Friday morning. Court Commissioner Doug Robinson set bail for at $5,000 cash bond, which he posted last week.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Tessa Scholl said in court Friday the fee was paid by a cashier’s check placed into his account. The $5,000 bond was later forfeited because of his absence in court.

He was initially arrested in October and charged with felony third-degree child molestation. Officers found Trejo Perez at the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport trying to flee the country. He, his wife and four children reside in Mexico, according to court records.

Trejo Perez began a jury trial for the charge in December, but the trial ended with a hung jury and a mistrial. Prosecutors were preparing for a second trial before he bonded out and failed to appear in court.

Trejo Perez faces additional charges like a gross misdemeanor charge for violating his sexual assault protection order. Scholl said in court Friday he contacted the victims from jail when he was ordered not to. Washington state also intends on filing felony bail-jumping charges for missing his court date.

Trejo Perez is being held without bond. His next court date is a jury trial scheduled for Feb. 12.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com