Centralia Man Charged With Rape for Allegedly Having Sex With 15-Year-Old Girlfriend 

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A 20-year-old Centralia man has been charged with felony third-degree rape of a child for allegedly having sex with his 15-year-old girlfriend. 

The defendant, Triston Slater, was charged after Centralia Police Department officers were provided with messages from the alleged victim’s school computer dated Feb. 12 and Feb. 14, 2021, when the two reportedly “discussed running away together, and discussed sexual things,” according to court documents. 

The victim and defendant reportedly began dating in December 2020. 

Police located Slater and the victim on April 3 and interviewed both parties. Both allegedly admitted to having sex four times while they were dating and “Slater admitted to knowing that their relationship was wrong and that they should have waited until (the victim) turned 16 to be together,” according to court documents. 



A felony third-degree rape of a child charge requires the victim to be between 14 and 16 years old and for the defendant to be over the age of 18 and at least 48 months older than the victim. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines. 

The Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office sent an official court summons to Slater’s address on May 25 and he had a preliminary appearance in Lewis County Superior Court on June 16. Judge James W. Lawler issued a no-contact order in favor of the victim and set Slater’s bail at $25,000 unsecured, meaning that Slater can remain out of custody and does not have to pay the bail amount so long as he follows his conditions of release. 

His next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for June 24.