BELLINGHAM, Wash. – A Whatcom County man awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to multiple charges of child rape and molestation.

Court Documents state that a 15-year-old girl told her parents in March 2022 that 37-year-old Steven M. Champeau had raped her repeatedly in 2020 and 2021.

The families of both the victim and Champeau were neighbors and close friends.

The girl told investigators the abuse began during a sleepover with Champeau’s children when she was 14, and continued for over a year.

A judge has ordered Champeau to be held in the Whatcom County Jail until he’s sentenced in July.