Man accused of biting an infant, raping a woman in Centralia in 2021 arrested on warrant

Oct. 4—A man accused of biting an infant and raping the child's mother in Centralia in 2021 and then moving to California has been arrested on a $500,000 warrant.

The warrant was issued by a Lewis County Superior Court judge on Nov. 15, 2021, the same day the Lewis County Prosecutor's Office filed charges of second-degree assault of a child, second-degree assault by strangulation and third-degree rape against Ivan Marquez Plascencia, also known as Ivan Marquez, 26.

The warrant was quashed and re-issued for the same $500,000 amount on June 15, 2022, according to court documents.

Marquez was booked into the Lewis County Jail at 12:40 p.m. on Oct. 3, following extradition from California, according to jail records.

Bail was reduced to $250,000 on Friday, Oct. 4. His conditions of release include provisions that Marquez not leave Western Washington and be confined under electric home monitoring until his case is resolved.

The charges stem from an investigation the Centralia Police Department initiated after it received a referral from Child Protective Services on Aug. 11, 2021, according to court documents.

According to the Child Protective Services referral, the child's grandmother discovered that the baby, who was under the age of 6 months at the time, had five bite marks on his buttocks. "The report stated the bite marks were discovered on July 27, 2021. One of the bite marks broke the skin and all of the injuries appeared to be deep bruises," according to court documents.

When the grandmother confronted the child's mother about the bites, the child's mother reportedly "claimed they were playful bites" and "admitted to biting her son," according to court documents.

She was arrested and charged with third-degree assault of a child, but the case was soon dismissed after the child's mother disclosed to her attorney that she had not assaulted her child and had been sexually assaulted by Marquez, who she was dating at the time.

The Centralia Police Department was notified on Aug. 20, 2021.

"After taking an agreed polygraph exam, (the mother's) polygraph results indicated she was being truthful and the charges against (the mother) were dismissed," according to court documents.

In a statement to investigators on Sept. 16, 2021, the child's mother described the incident that led to the injuries the child's grandmother discovered on July 27. According to the child's mother, the child "had been crying excessively when Ivan said 'If this baby wants something to cry about, I'll give him something to cry about.'"

Marquez then allegedly "leaned over and bit (the baby) on the buttocks," according to court documents.

Shortly after that incident, the child's mother reported, Marquez allegedly threw the child's mother onto a bed and "choked her with his forearm." She reported hearing Marquez say "If I really wanted to, I could," according to court documents.

In addition to the assault, Marquez is also accused of raping the child's mother in late February 2021 by "pressuring her to have sexual intercourse." She told investigators that she "told Ivan she did not want to have sexual intercourse, but then agreed because Ivan would not take no for an answer," according to court documents.

The child's mother told investigators in September 2021 that Marquez had fled to California. His current address on file with Lewis County officials is in Chehalis.

Defense attorney Rachael Tiller confirmed Friday that Marquez currently lives in Sacramento.

Investigators reportedly had the child's mother conduct a "confrontation call" of Marquez, which investigators received a search warrant to record.

During the call, Marquez allegedly admitted to choking the child's mother and allegedly said "I know. I'm sorry. Like, I didn't mean to choke you that hard." He also allegedly admitted to raping the child's mother, saying "I know. I'm sorry."

Marquez denied allegations that he abused or bit the infant.

Defense attorney Rachael Tiller said Friday that she and Marquez did not agree with the allegation that Marquez "fled" to California.

"Mr. Marquez made it very clear he is a U.S. citizen. He is not hiding. He is not a flight risk," Tiller said Friday, adding, "He expressed a lot of concerns regarding even the charging of this."

Arraignment is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 10.