Caretaker accused of raping 90-year-old woman near Elbe

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A registered sex offender has pleaded not guilty to raping a 90-year-old woman who he was supposed to be caring for at her Pierce County home.


The News Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/2dJn3xR ) that James Crowder Jr. entered not guilty pleas Thursday to four counts of second-degree rape. He's being jailed on $500,000 bail.

Court documents say the woman reported in September that she had been raped and abused by Crowder since he moved in to take care of her in 2010.

She told investigators she was friends with Crowder's aunt and had agreed to let him move in after he was released from jail.

The 51-year-old Crowder has previous conviction for incest and child molestation.

He has denied raping the woman and allegedly told police she was his girlfriend.