Man and girlfriend plead guilty to child rape

A retired police officer, who once toured grade schools with a talking motorcycle, and his girlfriend pleaded guilty Monday to child rape and other offenses involving young relatives.
Lee William Giles Jr., 62, and Maureen Elizabeth Wear, 47, face more than 19 years in prison under the pleas they entered before Pierce County Superior Court Judge Bryan E. Chushcoff.
Each pleaded guilty to first-degree child rape, second-degree child rape, first-degree child molestation and third-degree assault of a child. Giles is scheduled for sentencing Jan. 4 and Wear a week earlier.

Under their plea agreements, neither may be released from prison until a sentencing review board determines that he or she is no longer a threat to society, Deputy Prosecutor John M. Sheeran said.

Giles, who frequently visited schools and appeared on television and
radio during a 30-year police career that ended in 2000, was arrested in August 2006 after a young relative of Wear told authorities the officer had raped and molested him for years.

Detectives also wrote in court documents that they found videotapes showing Giles and Wear raping and molesting the boy, described as developmentally disabled, and molesting two girls related to Giles. The three ranged in age from 3 to 16 at the time of the abuse, according to the court filings.

Sheeran said he agreed to the deal partly to spare the victims from having to testify in court.
"There would have been a lot of graphic evidence introduced had the case gone to trial," Sheeran said. "The victims' families are supportive of this resolution."

As an officer, Giles appeared with Harvey, the talking motorcycle, in a grade school program designed to make police less scary and was involved in the TV program "Behind the Shield." After retiring he became host of "Crime Time" on KLAY-AM radio.

There was no record of accusations of sexual misconduct by Giles while he was on the police force, officials said. Defense lawyer Michael Schwartz said Giles accepted the plea offer to "not only put this behind him but put it behind the members of his family as well."

Wear, facing "what amounts to a life sentence" under the initial charges, agreed to the deal so she would have a chance at being released from prison, said her lawyer, Bret A. Purtzer.