A 60-year-old Birch Bay man was booked into Whatcom County Jail for two counts of first-degree child molestation on September 4. He was released the same day after he posted $50,000 bail.
Michael Stewart Nault, 60, was arrested after a child known to him reported he sexually assaulted them on three separate occasions in their sleep, according to the affidavit of probable cause filed in Whatcom County Superior Court. The child told a forensic interviewer one of the assaults occurred in March and another occurred August 15. A date was not provided in court documents for the other assault.
The child told the interviewer that Nault denied the assault in March and they had believed him. Screenshots of text messages in March and on August 15 showed the child messaging another adult that they needed to talk and didn’t want Nault around when they talked, according to court records.
Washington state law defines first-degree child molestation, a class A felony, as “when the person has, or knowingly causes another person under the age of eighteen to have, sexual contact with another who is less than twelve years old and the perpetrator is at least thirty-six months older than the victim.”
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) interviewed Nault on August 26. When interviewed, Nault told the WCSO detective there were about four separate times when the child had initiated sexual contact with him.
When asked by a WCSO detective, Nault said he didn’t believe the child was lying about the assaults, according to the APC. Nault said the child “truly believes it happened” after the detective asked him for more details.
If you or someone you know is affected by domestic or sexual violence, the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services (DVSAS) 24-hour hotline is available at 360/715-1563 or 877/715-1563.
Brigid Collins Family Support Center, a Bellingham-based nonprofit working to end child abuse, can be reached at 360/734-4616 and brigidcollins.org.
Lummi Victims of Crime has a 24-hour helpline at 360/312-2015.
The National Domestic Violence Helpline operates a chat line at thehotline.org/help.
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