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Sedro-Woolley man guilty of child rape

Bellingham Herald - 9/9/2017

Sept. 09--A 38-year-old Sedro-Woolley man was found guilty by a jury on one count of first-degree rape of a child, but not guilty on a second count of the same charge Wednesday in Whatcom County Superior Court.

Kristopher Keith Greening, in October 2015, denied raping a now 13-year-old girl known to him.

He will be sentenced in about a month following a presentence investigation, said Eric Richey, Whatcom County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor.

Greening faces up to more than 10 years in prison. He has no prior criminal history, according to court documents.

Greening's trial, which started Aug. 28, lasted about a week -- the jury deliberated for about six hours before reaching a verdict.

"This was a difficult case. We didn't have any physical evidence," Richey said. "We didn't have DNA. We didn't have any real strong evidence of corroboration except for the victim's way of disclosing what had happened. That, along with the victim not having a reason to make it up is what made this case possible."

Richey said the defense picked apart some of the victim's testimony at trial, arguing there were inconsistencies in her testimony about how many times and how long the abuse happened.

"The jury found her credible, they had to have or they would not have found him guilty," Richey said. "It was a tough case. I'm really impressed that the jury was able to come to the conclusion they did."

Greening's defense attorney, David Nelson, could not be reached for comment on Friday.

In October 2015, the victim's mother received a phone call from the father of one of the victim's friends. The father said his daughter had told him that Greening had been having sex with the victim.

On the way to the hospital, the victim told her mother where Greening had touched her and that the most recent incident had occurred a week prior, according to court records.

During the hospital visit, the girl told a nurse the abuse had "been going on for years," according to court records.

During an interview at the Brigid Collins Family Support Center, the victim told detectives the most recent abuse happened while she and her siblings were watching a movie. Greening came in the room, laid on a couch and asked the girl to cuddle with him under a blanket, according to court records.

Greening then raped the girl.

Denver Pratt: 360-715-2236, @DenverPratt

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