A 35-year-old Oak Harbor man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenager in 2023 could also face federal child sexual abuse charges.

During a hearing in Island County Superior Court Monday, Deputy Prosecutor Michael Safstrom said that he has spoken with an assistant U.S. attorney about the allegations against Joshua Wiener. He said he would advocate for federal prosecutors to pursue a case against Wiener; he pointed out that child sexual abuse is a federal crime.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed that there have been discussions but no decisions about the matter.

Wiener, a former South Whidbey resident, pleaded not guilty to kidnapping, rape and assault charges in Island County Superior Court and denied wrongdoing.

Wiener may also face additional charges in superior court based on videos he allegedly made while sexually assaulting the girl when she was 14 and providing her with methamphetamine, according to court documents.

A report by a detective with the Oak Harbor Police Department states that the victim was in protective custody of the state Department of Children, Youth and Families when she left a school in Oak Harbor without permission in April 2023. The police searched the area and checked her previous known addresses but did not locate her.

A couple of months later, the girl allegedly ran away from Wiener’s Oak Harbor apartment and was reunited with her mother.

The girl told police that Wiener contacted her after she ran away from school, and he claimed he would get her back to her mother. Instead, he took her phone away, would not let her leave his residence and raped her multiple times on an air mattress, the report states.

In a motion filed Sept. 20, prosecutors seek to add child porn and distribution of drugs to the long list of sex crimes he is accused of committing.

“The state is seeking to add substantive charges relating to Joshua Wiener’s act of providing drugs to (the victim) during the period that he groomed and eventually raped her, and his acts of making and developing video recordings depicting his sexual exploitation of (the victim),” the prosecutor’s motion states.

The proposed amended charges add three to the list that Wiener is facing. If the judge agrees, he will be charged with kidnapping in the first degree, rape in the first degree, rape in the second degree, assault in the second degree with sexual motivation, distribution of controlled substances to a person under 18 with sexual motivation, two counts of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexual explicit activity in the first degree and two counts of rape of a child in the third degree.

In addition, the prosecutor is alleging aggravating circumstances that could allow a sentence outside of the standard sentencing range.

If convicted of the charges, Wiener would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.