Police: Suspect in child rape built basement 'sex dungeon'
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Yakima police say they have identified more potential underage victims of Travis Padgett, the Yakima man at the center of a disturbing child rape investigation.
As of now, he's accused of having sex with a child nearly 50 times.
So, who is this man accused of such terrible things?
Under the alias of Travis McDougal, Padgett's Facebook page shows a man who seems to have it together.
Padgett is a paralegal who works for the Association of Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, according to his Facebook.
"Looks like a normal guy. Carry on a job, have communication with the public and nobody would probably think any different," said Capt. Rod Light, Yakima police spokesperson.
Police said the 39-year-old was living another life few people saw down in his basement. Investigators said it was a room for sex crimes.
"I mean that's how some are coining it as being a sex dungeon," Light said.
Police got their first look at the basement after arresting Padgett for having sex with a child nearly 50 times. That's when officers say they found a 14 year-old girl.
Detectives say she's from Seattle but won't explain comment on how she got there.
This all came to light when the first child went to a student resource officer.
"May have reached his breaking point," Light said. "That he couldn't deal with it anymore."
Court documents indicate Padgett made the child "participate in sex acts with the females."
They also stated the kid was "frequently exposed to pornography while engaging in the various sex acts."
Yakima police say this case is one of the worst of the worst but the investigation is far from over; detectives say they've identified more potential underage victims that have come forward.
Danielle Surkatty is a human trafficking advocate in the Yakima Valley and said the case raises red flags.
"Where's the line between child exploitation and trafficking?" KIMA asked.
"Where you can draw the line is between child exploitation and trafficking is whether or not there was any kind of financial gain," Surkatty said.
That could be money or drugs. Other experts say kids subjected to this are often videotaped.
Yakima detectives can't confirm whether this is a case of human trafficking. They're analyzing computers taken from Padgett's home.
A lawyer for the Association of Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said Padgett was a temporary employee, not full-time.
Action News has not disclosed the age or gender of the child involved in this case to help protect the victim's identity.
brick him up in his own basement.
In Asia up until a century or two ago, baby females of pretty mothers were brought/ sold to brothel nurseries to have their ankles broken and crippled for life, so they would grow up/ be raised as sex slaves, with nowhere to run to, 'cause they could only crawl like a baby for the rest of their lives.
I had hoped our species might have evolved past such evil, but not according to this SICKO!
I do not condone torture as punishment, but sometimes it is so dammed tempting.Â
and how many months will he have to serve before he is out and near our families again
"This all came to light when the first child went to a student resource officer."May have reached his breaking point," Light said. "That he couldn't deal with it anymore.""
"Action News has not disclosed the age or gender of the child involved in this case to help protect the victim's identity"
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Good Job, Action News.
Unfortunately, there are many children runaways who are in the same position. Here in Eugene Oregon, the police don't even bother trying to take them back to their families.
Why oh why do we for one have human beings capable of such horrific acts and why do we waste tax dollars on these people, I say death penalty and use those tax dollars on better protecting our children and overall community, and anyone who thinks otherwise would change their mind if it happened to their child!
I'll volunteer for the firing squad.
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@SwiftlyJust ---just have 3 of you with 3 kill rifles and only 2 will have bullets. That way, there will always be a .33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333 chance that you didn't kill a living human being that may not be guilty.
It will help you sleep better at night. Trust me.
Unfortunately, this sack of fecal material will be put into solitary for his protection, hopefully somebody shanks him before that.Â