Riley T. Carter

Overview

Former Aberdeen, Washington city councilor Riley T. Carter — known for wearing a red ballcap reading ‘Make Pedophiles Afraid Again’ — was convicted on June 6, 2025, on three counts of first-degree rape of a child, three counts of first-degree incest, one count of first-degree child molestation, and one count of second-degree incest. He was sentenced on July 11, 2025, to a minimum of 46½ years in prison.

Description

Carter was arrested by Aberdeen police in late July 2024; he resigned his Ward 5 council seat within days. At the four-day trial in June 2025, jurors convicted him on all counts and found aggravating circumstances of ongoing abuse and abuse of trust for each. Judge sentenced him to a minimum 46.5-year term with lifetime sex-offender registration. Carter had built his political identity around anti-pedophile rhetoric while perpetrating child sexual abuse himself.