FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A 25-year-old Federal Way man faces multiple charges after two sisters allege he sexually abused them.
Joseph Hefner, aka Joseph Jones is being held on $500,000 bail. He was charged Tuesday, June 4, with rape of a child, child molestation and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
On May 2, the King County Sheriff's Office received a report of a sex offense against a child. Law enforcement learned Hefner had been a friend of the 10-year-old and 13-year-old's family since meeting them several years ago when the youngest daughter attended Discovery Playtown daycare in Maple Valley, where the man worked.
Hefner went on voluntary leave on May 1, a few days before the discovery of the allegations against him, according to the owners of Discovery Playtown. He was then fired on May 6.
The director of the daycare center was fired on May 9 "due to violations of company policies." KING 5 is not naming the director as they have not been officially charged.
On May 1, according to a statement of probable cause, the 10-year-old girl told a relative that Hefner molested her within the past eight months - before her 10th birthday, it was estimated.
During an interview with the girl, she said Hefner expressed concern that her parents would find out. During the interview, the girl also brought up behavior she saw between her older sister and Hefner that "didn't feel right."
During an interview with the 13-year-old, she said she met Hefner when he would drop her younger sister off from daycare. She said Hefner made her feel cared about. They played Minecraft together and eventually added each other on Discord, a messaging and voice chat platform. They eventually shared sexually explicit videos.
The 13-year-old girl said things progressed with Hefner going to her house when her parents weren't around.
The two eventually had sex, according to a statement of probable cause.
Eventually, the girl said she "felt strongly enough about the fact that what she and [the man] were doing was wrong, so she broke up with him." That included Hefner allegedly telling her what happened with her sister.
Investigators learned the initial abuse by Hefner was similar to that of other incidents in the past. Hefner had to register as a sex offender in 2013 up until 2021.
Hefner was arrested on May 31 at his home in Federal Way. During an interview with the man, he admitted to the incident involving the 10-year-old girl, though he said it was a misunderstanding on her part.
Hefner to the sexual abuse of the 13-year-old girl and knew it was wrong, according to a statement of probable cause. He said he continued because he "didn't want her to kill herself."
Hefner was previously convicted as a juvenile for first-degree child molestation, according to a statement of probable cause.
A family member of the girls who asked to remain anonymous spoke to KING 5, stating the family is "doing OK" and "trying to keep things as normal as possible around the house."
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