A Vashon man has been charged with three counts of child rape and molestation after he confessed to family members that he had molested the girl, now a woman of 19.

In a letter of apology to the young woman, he also said “he had done it to others and wished he’d stopped before her,” according to court documents.

Jeremy Ray Maxson, 39, was charged with two counts of first-degree child rape and one count of first-degree child molestation. Maxson is scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday, May 26, where prosecutors will seek a $150,000 bail.

Court documents paint a picture of repeated and frequent abuse that allegedly started when the girl was 4 or 5 years old and continued until she was in her pre- or early teens.

The alleged years of abuse came to light in December, when family members began to grow concerned about Maxson, who was behaving strangely, and decided he needed medical help, court documents say. As they were working that out, Maxson made a statement about molesting the victim, saying it had occurred 10 years earlier.

A family friend and the victim’s mother then asked the victim about it, and she said it was true, documents say. The family friend told a medical professional about the victim’s statements; the professional then called state Child Protective Services.

When a detective interviewed Maxson, he said he didn’t remember molesting the victim but “acknowledged he was sexually abused by a person he trusted when he was a child,” according to court documents. Then in March, the victim received a letter from Maxson, apologizing to her for his actions.

An investigation of Maxson, an auto mechanic on Vashon, is continuing, according to Dan Donohoe, spokesman for the King County prosecutor’s office.