A 23-year-old South Whidbey man is accused of molesting and assaulting a child in Langley, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged Pierce F.D. Jackson in Island County Superior Court Jan. 2 with assault in the second degree and child molestation in the second degree.

A deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office investigated after a Langley man reported that he caught Jackson exposing himself to a pre-teen girl on Dec. 29. The resident said he also discovered that “touching” had been going on for years, the deputy’s report states.

The girl also said Jackson had recently put her in a chokehold until she passed out, the deputy wrote.

The resident said Jackson warned that he was suicidal after he was kicked out of the house. The deputy had Jackson’s cell phone “pinged” by emergency dispatch, and a dispatcher provided deputies with his location.

Police found Jackson at the end of a rural road; he had a loaded pistol but the deputy was able to get it from him without incident, the report states.

A family member told the deputy that the girl had disclosed nearly a year ago that Jackson has raped her but later recanted because “she did not want the family to be torn apart,” the report states.

A judge set Jackson’s bail at $150,000 during a Dec. 30 hearing.