Child rapist released from jail early

A former Washougal School District employee and employees union president who was sentenced in November 2018 to serve 11 years in prison for raping and molesting a child was released from Clark County Jail on Sunday, Oct. 13.

Larry Guenther served one year in the county jail instead of 11 years in prison after being granted a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) in lieu of prison.

In order to be eligible for the SSOSA, a defendant must have no prior convictions of a felony sex offense; have no adult convictions of a violent offense within the past five years; plead guilty to the current crime; have a prior relationship with the victim aside from the sexual assault; be facing a sentence of no more than 132 months (11 years) in custody; be employed or have financial resources; and receive an evaluation by a certified treatment provider, according to the King County Sexual Assault Resource Center.

In October 2018, Guenther entered guilty pleas for the first-degree rape of a child and first-degree child molestation. Guenther was accused of molesting and raping the child for approximately four years starting in the late 1990s, when the boy was about 8 years old.

Guenther told Washougal police on Feb. 14, 2017, he thought he molested the victim about 75 times, but police officers said they believed the number was likely much higher.

On Feb. 15, 2017, Guenther resigned from the Washougal School District, where he worked as a warehouse employee. Guenther also worked for the school district from February 1994 to February 2017 in a variety of roles, and served as president of the Washougal Chapter of Public School Employees of Washington/Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1948 from Sept. 3, 2014, to Feb. 15, 2017.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 15, Guenther was not registerd as a sex offender in Washington state.