12-Year-Old Lured Away From AquaSox Game, Then Raped

EVERETT - A 12-year-old boy was lured by a man outside an Everett AquaSox game, taken to a nearby hotel, and then was sexually assaulted.

The luring happened after an AquaSox game last week. Police say 20-year-old Edward Allen Hope somehow convinced the boy to leave with him. Prosecutors say the man first wandered around the area trying to find a hotel room they could go to. When he couldn’t, he called a cab.

As the 12-year-old's parents tried frantically to find him outside of Everett Memorial Stadium after the game, court papers say the man took the boy to a South Everett hotel. It was there he allegedly raped the boy.

The next day, when the boy still hadn't returned home, his father found him back at the baseball field. When the boy told his father what happened and pointed to the man who did it, his father called police.

Hope is charged with second degree rape of a child. The prosecution asked for more than double of his original bail to $250,000 because of the age of the victim, and where it took place.

"It took place as he was encountering someone who was leaving a family environment; a place where children congregate and where we want them to congregate," said prosecutor Mark Roe. "There's not a lot more wholesome than a minor league baseball game."

The mother of the boy was in court, crying as she saw the man accused of raping her son. Although she wanted to talk about her case, we're not identifying her to protect her son's identity. She wants the man who hurt her son to pay.

"I hope he goes away for a long time so he can't hurt anyone else," the boy's mother said.

While prosecutors agree Edward Hope is a danger to the community, they still belive an AquaSox game is not a dangerous place.

"My kids go there, I let them run around the infield and play catch," Roe said. "And I'm going to continue to do that."

The victim's mom thought it was safe too, and would often let him go to games alone just a few blocks away from their house. But she now wonders if she should have.

"Keep a good eye on your kids, even at games where there's lots of people," she said.

We spoke with the operations director of the Everett AquaSox and he says the ball club is happy the boy is home with his family and happy the suspect is in custody and they still believe that this a safe and fun place for families.