Robert Shaepe, a 54-year-old Orcas Island man, has been charged with one count of luring, a class C felony, and one count of harassment, a gross misdemeanor, in San Juan County Superior Court.

He is currently in custody, and his bail is set at $10,000. An arraignment was held on Dec. 29, but Shaepe had not yet been assigned a public defender. His attorney will enter a plea at a new arraignment on Jan. 5. No-contact orders were also issued, ordering Shaepe not to contact the child or the parents, not to go within 1000 feet of them, or go near their residence, school or workplaces. Shaepe was also ordered to surrender any weapons; he filed a declaration stating he does not own any.

Case details

On Dec. 12, according to court documents, a deputy responded to a report to the Sheriff’s Office of an unwanted person incident involving a 9-year-old.

According to court documents, there was an obvious smell of intoxicants on Shaepe’s breath when the responding deputy arrived, and given his irrational behavior, Shaepe was handcuffed and placed in the patrol car.

The minor stated that they were walking home from the Funhouse Commons (a youth center) when they heard someone say the F-word. The child stated that they initially assumed it was coming from a passing vehicle, but then heard it twice more. After a third time, the person approached the child, saying, “Hey, do you need any help? I just want to help you.”

The child stated that they did not require any assistance. The man, later identified as Shaepe, asked the child whether they needed any food and noted that, if they provided their full name, he would take the child to his place of work and make food. The minor said they were not comfortable with sharing their name. Shaepe allegedly replied, “What’s your problem, I’m on your f-ing side here;” continued to follow him and then asked about taking him to Shaepe’s home, where he could treat the child “like a father would,” and “I’ll follow you to your house to make sure you’re safe.”

The child replied that they were fine. When the interaction continued, they called their mother; when she did not answer, they called their father.

According to court documents, the father stated he could hear Shaepe yelling, “I can treat you like a father would,” while he was on the phone.

The parents raced to find their child, with the father driving while the mother called 911. They stated to the responding deputy that they saw Shaepe following closely behind their child, who was sobbing. They instructed their child to enter the car. Once the child did so, Shaepe banged on the driver’s side window so hard that he damaged it and allegedly yelled, “Try that again and I will f—- you up.”

When the deputy asked how the child was, the child said, “terrified.”

The deputy returned to Shaepe and asked what he was doing; he stated that he was walking home from the Island Skillet. When asked if anything had happened, he said nothing.