EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — A jury has acquitted an ex-Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy who was charged with third-degree rape of a child. The Daily Herald reports Anthony Zayas cried as he heard the verdict read Monday in Snohomish County Superior Court. Zayas was employed as a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy from 2019 to 2021. On June 20, 2020, charging papers say he had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl he met through Tinder. Documents say the girl used a fake name on her dating profile and wrote that she was 19. He testified that he believed the girl was over 18. Deputy prosecutor Jarett Goodkin argued that under the law, Zayas had a responsibility to verify the girl’s age.
Jury acquits ex-deputy of child rape
