Accused Teen Rapist Hangs Himself In Pierce County Jail: Sheriff

TACOMA, WA - A convicted felon being held at Pierce County Jail on charges related to coercing a minor for sexual purposes reportedly hanged himself in his cell this week. Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Det. Ed Troyer on Thursday confirmed the death of 55-year-old Errol Leon Van Pevenage, Jr.

Van Pevenage was arrested Feb. 13 after investigators discovered evidence he'd used an online chat application to threaten and manipulate a 17-year-old Bonney Lake girl into a sexual relationship over the course of nearly two months in 2018.

On Tuesday, around 11:30 p.m., jail staff found Van Pevenage hanging from a bedsheet in his cell. Staff performed CPR, but Van Pevenage was declared dead at Tacoma General Hospital.

Van Pevenage was facing a handful of hefty charges, Troyer said, including rape and three other sex crimes involving a minor.

Detectives were reportedly making a case against Van Pevenage that showed he'd been luring minors online from across the country, Troyer said. Van Pevenage, who was being held on $2 million bail, had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges; his first court date was set for March 12.

As previously reported on Patch, Van Pevenage met his Bonney Lake victim on the website chathour.com around March 1, 2018. Between March 1 and April 24, Van Pevenage allegedly used the website's video chat option to unscrupulously convince the girl to perform sexual acts, which he watched and at least once used a cell phone to record.

Though the girl tried to stop talking to him, Van Pevenage reportedly coerced her into continuing the illicit communication by threatening to tell her parents what she'd been doing and by threatening to burn down her house, admitting to investigators that he was "upset" when she told him she wanted to stop; threatening her was his attempt "to teach her a lesson," he said.

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