COLFAX, WA – More charges have been filed against the 51-year-old Pullman man accused of child rape and molestation. The Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office has added five felonies to their case against Eric Robins.
The office on Thursday filed two more counts of 1st degree child rape and 3 charges related to possessing child sexual abuse material. The new counts are on top of the initial charges of child rape and molestation against Robins. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Tessa Scholl stated in court on Thursday that new video evidence discovered by Pullman Police Detectives led to the additional charges.
Robins was set to be arraigned on Thursday. That proceeding was delayed to give Public Defender Steve Martonick time to review the new counts. Judge Roger Sandberg agreed with the prosecution on Thursday and increased Robins bond to 750,000 dollars. He was previously being held on 200,000 dollars bond on the initial two counts.
Robins was arrested by Pullman Police in late December for allegedly raping and molesting a young girl. He has worked as a night custodian and Jefferson and Sunnyside Elementary Schools in Pullman since early 2022. The case doesn’t involve Pullman schools, students or any district operations.
Robins criminal history includes a 2002 conviction under an alias in Louisiana for aggravated assault with a firearm. In 2019, under his real name, Robins pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault in Moscow and spent four days in jail. In 1997, he was wanted on a military authority fugitive warrant in California.
Robins passed his background check to work for the Pullman School District. That background check was run by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction in Olympia. Pullman Schools Superintendent Dr. Bob Maxwell says that agency uses the Washington State Patrol and FBI databases for background checks. That process does involve fingerprints, and Maxwell believes that Robins was fingerprinted. He tells Pullman Radio News that district officials are reviewing their background check protocols in light of this case.
If convicted, Robins could spend the rest of his life in prison. He is now set to be arraigned on the 16th.
Robins has been placed on leave by the school district and is banned from Pullman Schools property and activities.
