BELLINGHAM, Wash. — A man who has been living at a homeless camp in Bellingham is under arrest after allegedly attacking an 11-year-old girl as she left her gymnastics class Tuesday evening.
"One of the homeless individuals walked over, reached up, sexually grabbed one of my students and took off down the road," said Kent Charett, owner of North Coast Gymnastics Academy.
Charette said he has worried about something like this happening for the past five weeks, ever since an illegal homeless camp appeared across the street at Bellingham's Civic Athletic Complex.
Police say 39-year-old Brent Oakley was apparently inebriated when he swooped in and assaulted the child as she made the short walk to her mom's car.
"It's infuriating," said her mother, whose identity KING 5 is protecting.
She is now demanding the city close the camp immediately.
"It was horrifying," she said. "You never think something like that is going to happen to your child, especially in a place where they feel safe and comfortable."
Oakley was arrested for 4th degree assault with sexual motivation.
Police say Oakley was out of jail after being arrested just two days earlier when he was spotted running on Interstate 5. He was later charged with assault, vehicle prowl and malicious mischief after he crawled into the trunk of someone's car, holding a bottle of wine. Police say he also broke a window, spraying one officer with glass.
While Bellingham police were able to quickly arrest Oakley on Tuesday, problems have persisted around the homeless camp.
The camp at the Athletic Complex is what's left over from the camp that sat outside Bellingham City Hall for three months. Issues there included arsons, assaults and a hatchet attack.
The city swept that camp, but the issues moved a few miles away.
The homeless were told they had to leave the latest encampment by Feb. 5, but the overwhelming majority remain, apparently unfazed.
Charette said Mayor Seth Fleetwood has been no help.
"We've sent countless letters and emails asking for just 10 minutes of his time, but there has been no response. Every day now something worse is happening. What's it gonna take?"
"This is what I've been having nightmares about," said Charette's wife Bekah. "I worry about a kid getting kidnapped. I worry about somebody having a weapon. I worry about the emotional trauma that's gonna come from that."
Over the past two months, KING 5 has repeatedly asked Fleetwood to sit down for an interview, but he has said he has not been available.
Fleetwood's spokesperson tells us the city is "going through the steps" to remove the camp.
At a virtual city council meeting on Feb. 22, Fleetwood said caseworkers are in the process of engaging with people living at the camp to find them services. He also said there could be a temporary solution with a location at the Port of Bellingham. That encampment, however, would be shut down once the COVID-19 emergency is over, Fleetwood told the city council.
"One of the challenges is finding a location where they can go after," said Fleetwood. "That's what we are presently engaged in."
For now, an even closer eye is being kept on kids at the gymnastics academy, as one family tries to heal their little girl, hoping another child doesn't fall victim.
"It shouldn't take a child being accosted to have the laws enforced," said the 11-year-old's mother.
Charette said he has been told by police that officers are not allowed to enter the camp to pursue a suspected criminal unless it is a major crime.
"These guys know it and they feel like they can do anything they want," he said.
Lt. Claudia Murphy with Bellingham Police Department told KING 5 the situation is much more nuanced than that.
"There is no truth to the statement the Mayor has forbidden officers to enter the illegal encampment. A police response inside the illegal encampment is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Officers have been met with violence and other obstructive measures even when assisting the Fire Department. Our responses are evaluated for the type of call, severity of the crime or incident, time of day, number of officers available to safely enter the encampment and provide the service needed or affect an arrest. It has everything to do with being as safe as possible to keep our residents, officers and the folks living in the encampment from being injured."
