A man convicted for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl while on a camping trip to the Riffe Lake area of Lewis County in June 2024 was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.
Tascino A. Shelton-Higginbotham, 44, of Spanaway, pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to five counts of third-degree rape of a child.
He was arrested July 29, 2024, following a Lewis County Sheriff’s Office investigation that began on July 2 when Good Samaritan Hospital in Parkland and Child Protective Services reported the sexual assault to detectives, according to previous Chronicle reporting.
“Between the dates of June 28, 2024, and June 29, 2024, while in Lewis County, Washington, I had sexual intercourse with (the victim) on five separate and distinct occasions. I knew she was 14 years old at the time and I was not married to her. I was 43 years old at the time,” Shelton-Higginbotham stated in his written guilty plea, which was filed in Lewis County Superior Court on Jan. 15.
Shelton-Higginbotham reportedly took two girls, both under the age of 16, with him on a camping trip to an area near the Riffe Lake Campground in East Lewis County from June 28 to June 29, with the understanding that the girls would share a tent and Shelton-Higginbotham would sleep in his vehicle, according to court documents.
The girls reported that Shelton-Higginbotham instead had one of the girls sleep in his vehicle while he shared the tent with the other girl and sexually assaulted her, according to court documents.
When questioned by the victim’s mother about the camping trip before the victim reported the sexual assault, Shelton-Higginbotham said “he hardly saw the girls” because they were doing other activities and “made it clear’ there was a nearby campsite with three teenage boys where he thought the girls spent most of their time hanging out,” according to court documents.
According to the victim’s mother, Shelton-Higginbotham fled his residence when he learned the victim’s mother had taken the victim to the hospital for a sexual assault exam. He later reportedly returned to his residence to gather his belongings to go stay with a relative. The victim’s mother has since told detectives she “believes Tascino is going to go off-grid.”
Lewis County Superior Court Judge Paul Strophy sentenced Shelton-Higginbotham on Wednesday to 60 months on each of the first four counts of third-degree rape of a child and 24 months on the fifth count. Each sentence is set to run concurrently, for a total of 60 months in prison. A total of 36 months of probation will follow his prison sentence.
Shelton-Higginbotham will additionally be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.
Restitution will be determined at a later date, according to court documents.
A sexual assault protection order in favor of the victim is in place.
