Idon’t see red often.

In more than 20 years of covering news in this city, I’ve trained myself to stay composed. To be fair. To remember there are real people behind every story.

But yesterday, I saw red. A 46-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting a five-year-old homeless girl walked out of King County Jail. Free. Not because anyone wanted him free. Not because anyone thought he should be free. But because the law gave prosecutors no choice.

Let that sink in.

This little girl told officers her pelvic area hurt. She said she was touched by “someone else’s private parts” on two consecutive days. She identified the man. She pointed to his tent. Another resident at Tent City 3 saw him trying to lure her inside and intervened.

The evidence was strong enough for the police to arrest h

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