CK man admits Bremerton rapes

Almost four weeks after raping two 11-year-old girls in an East Bremerton home and nearly three weeks after entering an initial not guilty plea, Gregory Monroe conceded guilt Wednesday at the Kitsap County Superior Courthouse in Port Orchard. Monroe, 29, of Silverdale, changed his plea to guilty on two counts of rape in the first degree, five counts of kidnapping in the first degree, one count of burglary with sexual motivation and one count of assault in the second degree.

Superior Court Judge Karlynn Haberly accepted Monroe’s plea; the standard range for these types of crimes is from 32 to 42-and-a-half years imprisonment.

“He plead guilty and spared the victims the agony of a trial,” Kitsap County Sheriff Steve Boyer said Thursday.

Monroe’s young victims attended the Feb. 12 proceedings, accompanied by their families.

“They sat quietly and were respectful of the legal process,” Chief Deputy Prosecutor Neil Wachter said describing the two children.

“This is a strong group of family and extended family members that are fully supporting the victims in this case.”

The two middle school students were assaulted on Jan. 16 in the East Bremerton home of one of the girls. Monroe wielded a large kitchen knife to force the girls into a bedroom where he tied them up, made them perform sexual acts and raped them.

Three other teens arrived at the home an hour-and-a-half later, encountering Monroe as he continued the assaulting the two girls. Monroe forced each into the same bedroom where he also restrained them using various household electrical cords. One of them, a 14-year-old boy, was cut several times by Monroe as the attacker struggled to subdue him.

The stepfather of one of the 11-year-old girls finally sent Monroe fleeing from the home when he arrived at the residence. The stepfather pursued Monroe in his own vehicle as the rapist fled on foot but eventually lost sight of him.

“This is the worst type of predator,” Boyer said. “He targeted these little girls and acted out his own selfish fantasies or desires on them.

“It could have been so much worse had that father not come home and protected his family.”

Boyer said he was not surprised by the change of plea, and attributed the reversal to the amount of evidence collected by his officers and detectives, crediting their “extraordinary police work.”

Monroe was arrested Jan. 21, five days after the assault, following a tip made to law enforcement officials the night before. Out of the hundreds of clues called in, one made Jan. 20 led detectives to Monroe’s residence in Silverdale. Monroe consented to a search of his home and escorted sheriff’s detectives through the residence, showing them the backpack, coat and shoes he’d been wearing on Jan. 16. The backpack contained news clippings of the assault.

Monroe is represented by court-appointed defense attorney Eric Fong of Rovang Fong and Associates. Monroe’s previous $1 million bail set at his arraignment Jan. 24 has been rescinded.

Sentencing will occur on April 7, and Wachter plans to recommend high-end punishment.

Wachter agreed the victims or their families may speak out at the sentencing.

“I suppose that some of them may want to,” he said.

— Amy Crumley contributed to this story.

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