Ex-Boys and Girls Club Employee Sentenced to 22 Years for Rape, Child Molestation

Timothy L. Dampier, an ex-employee of the Bellevue Boys and Girls Club, was sentenced Friday to 22 years in prison on multiple charges of rape of a child and child molestation for sexually abusing boys when he was involved in church and youth organizations.

Dampier pleaded guilty on Sept. 13, 2012, to 22 counts involving 10 victims between the ages of 9 and 17, including Rape of a Child (First and Second Degree), Child Molestation (First, Second and Third Degree), Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Possession of Child Pornography, and Communication with a Minor for Immoral Purposes.

Dampier, 39, worked with children both through his job at the Boys and Girls Club in Bellevue, Seattle Parks and Recreation and other youth programs, and through multiple churches, including the Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in Seattle, which was among the places where he performed as a church singer.

 after being questioned at his job at the Boys & Girls Club in Bellevue. After his arrest, he immediately was suspended from his job, according to charging papers.

The investigation was launched after one of the victims, now in his 20s, went to the minister of a Seattle Central-area church and told him that Dampier had abused him. The victim had heard that Dampier was hired as a musician by that church and told the minister he was concerned about the safety of other children. The minister notified Seattle Police of the man’s report.

The crimes occurred between 1997 and 2011, the prosecutors office said in a news release last year.

The Prosecutors Office highlighted the investigative work of Detective Ellen Inman of the Bellevue Police Department along with Detective Donna Stangeland of the Seattle Police Department for "their outstanding investigative work on the cases."

At least two teenagers who had met Dampier through the Boys and Girls Club of Bellevue came forward during the investigation to say they spent the night at  Dampier's home in Seattle in 2011, according to the original charging papers.