A Fort Lewis soldier is sitting in the Kitsap County Jail with charges of child rape looming over him.

Sgt. Robert Winkler, 30 was arrested Sept. 13 and was charged in a Sept. 14 court appearance with three counts of third-degree rape of a child, three counts of child molestation and one charge of communicating with a child for immoral purposes.

He plead not guilty during his first court appearance and is being held on $200,000 bail. His next court date is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 6 at the Kitsap County Superior Court in Port Orchard.

The charges stem from allegations that Winkler was having sexual intercourse and was sending inappropriate e-mails to three underaged girls. In the e-mails, Winkler allegedly discussed sex acts with the girls and asked for sex from the girls. Two of the girls were 14 and one was 15. The incidents allegedly occurred in North Kitsap, Central Kitsap at Fort Lewis Military Reservation and in Oregon between June 5 and Aug. 31, according to Wilson.

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