Teen's Rape Goes Unreported After Deportation Threat: Police

BELLEVUE, WA - A Bellevue teen's rape went unreported for two years because the attacker allegedly threatened the victim's family with deportation, according to charges. The assault was reported to Bellevue police in December only after the victim told her therapist about the incident.

Bellevue police arrested the alleged attacker, Simon Tajer, 48, on Jan. 31 on charges of third-degree child rape and residential burglary. The charges were first reported Monday by the Seattle PI.

The victim, who was 14 at the time, went to Tajer's apartment on July 2016 for a barbecue, according to court records. The victim and Tajer were neighbors in the same apartment complex. She was accompanied by a friend and her brother. During the party, Tajer allegedly tried started kissing the victim, but she pushed him away.

Later, Tajer allegedly gave the victim a cup of what she thought was water. But the drink tasted strange, and the teen began to feel sick and dizzy, according to court documents. She went home to rest on her couch, and that's when Tajer allegedly entered the victim's apartment and assaulted her. The victim's mother was away from home at a class in Woodinville at the time.

When the victim's mother came home, her daughter told her what happened. Tajer then allegedly called the mother and threatened to contact immigration authorities. Fearing deportation, and because her son had a tumor, the mother did not report the crime.

"As she spoke to me about why she didn't report it to police, she cried and said she had been afraid of immigration," a Bellevue Det. David Bruchon wrote in charging papers.

Interviewed by police, the victim's brother and friend corroborated the victim's story, according to court records.

Tajer was released Feb. 5 after posting $50,000 bond, according to jail records.

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