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| Khalid A. Fathey |
(Tri-City Herald) A 49-year-old man reportedly boarded a flight for the United Arab Emirates two days before he was to stand trial in Kennewick on charges of raping and molesting a grade-school girl.
A nationwide arrest warrant was issued this week for Khalid A. Fathey after he was a no-show at his Benton County Superior Court trial.
The U.S. Marshals Service then discovered that Fathey left Seattle on July 23 on a plane bound for Dubai, said Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra.
She did not know if it was a one-way ticket or round trip.
Fathey was free on his personal recognizance since being charged with the sex crimes in May 2015. He now faces a new charge of bail jumping.
Judge Vic VanderSchoor waited 1 1/2 hours Monday — in case Fathey had car trouble or another problem — before calling off the trial, releasing the jurors and ordering the arrest warrant.
“Needless to say, the victim’s family was very upset by the news,” Petra told the Herald. “They wanted justice in this case and for this case to be over.”
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