Man denies raping child at daycare

A 34-year-old Oak Harbor man is accused of raping a four-year-old boy while the child was in daycare, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Bryon Koeller in Island County Superior Court July 24 with the rape of a child in the first degree. He pleaded not guilty Aug. 6.

According to a report by Detective Teri Gardner with the Oak Harbor Police, the child reported that Koeller molested him a number of times while he was at a daycare that Koeller’s wife ran out of their Central Drive home in Oak Harbor.

Koeller denied any inappropriate contact with the boy, Gardner wrote. He said he was never alone with the child because of allegations made by his ex-wife. He said she had accused him of molesting another child years ago, but the Navy investigated and he was never convicted of anything, the report states.

Koeller’s current wife said “she is 100 percent sure” her husband isn’t capable of molesting a child, Gardner wrote.

If convicted of the charge, Koeller would face from seven years and nine months to 10 years and three months in prison under the standard sentencing range.