Jury Acquits Man in Gatewood Kidnapping Case
A King County jury found Cristien X. Bugge-Marcum not guilty of attempted second-degree kidnapping after a two-week trial.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Sex Crimes
A King County jury returned a not-guilty verdict Tuesday for Cristien X. Bugge-Marcum, 22, on a charge of attempted second-degree kidnapping. Superior Court Judge Tenaya Scheinman ordered him released from the King County Jail.
Why it matters
The verdict ends a case in which the only two witnesses were the alleged 8-year-old victim and her 9-year-old friend, and the defense argued the children identified a different man than the one on surveillance video. The outcome underscores how much weight juries place on identification evidence when no video of the reported incident exists.
Bugge-Marcum was charged in April with attempted second-degree kidnapping and had been held in the King County Jail since his arrest six months earlier. Following the not-guilty verdict, the court ordered his release, ending the criminal case against him.
The players
Cristien X. Bugge-Marcum
The 22-year-old defendant acquitted of attempted second-degree kidnapping after being held in the King County Jail for six months.
Tenaya Scheinman
King County Superior Court judge who presided over the trial and ordered Bugge-Marcum released from custody.
The details
The charge stems from an alleged incident in which an 8-year-old girl reported that a man grabbed her near 36th SW and SW Othello in the Gatewood neighborhood. Bugge-Marcum was arrested the day after the reported incident, and the two-week trial in King County Superior Court ended Tuesday.
Timeline
April 2025: Bugge-Marcum charged with attempted second-degree kidnapping.
Day after the reported incident (April 2025): Bugge-Marcum arrested.
Tuesday, November 4, 2026: Jury returns not-guilty verdict and Judge Scheinman orders release.
Legal Context
The case was prosecuted under Washington's second-degree kidnapping statute and its attempt provisions, which apply when prosecutors allege a completed step toward unlawful restraint. Acquittals in cases built on child identification without corroborating video illustrate the evidentiary limits prosecutors face under that charge.
Residents of the Gatewood neighborhood near 36th SW and SW Othello may note that the reported incident prompted a criminal case that has now ended in acquittal. The verdict means the defendant is no longer subject to the pending charge and has been released from custody.
The takeaway
Identification testimony from young children can be decisive in criminal trials, and juries weigh it against surveillance footage when video of the incident itself is unavailable. Readers following similar cases can track the verdict and the court record through King County Superior Court.
Further reading
For more coverage of similar cases, see Sex Crimes reporting from the Seattle area.
Source note: This article includes information reported by West Seattle Blog....
