The girl asked him to kill her mom’s ex-boyfriend, a sex offender staying with them in Everett.

EVERETT — A 10-year-old girl wrote a letter to Santa Claus saying she hated her mother’s ex-boyfriend and asking Santa to kill him as a Christmas present, according to court records.

Now, a sex offender with a record dating back two decades has been charged with sexually abusing the child in Everett.

Someone called Child Protective Services when they noticed the girl acting strangely. In addition to the letter, she was wetting herself, which had not been a problem before.

The girl reportedly told a Snohomish County sheriff’s detective that the man, 36, raped her several times in November and December when her mother was gone. He lived in the same apartment in Everett for nine months, and he watched over the girl and her brothers while their mother worked.

He moved out Christmas Day.

He was charged this month in Snohomish County Superior Court with first-degree rape of a child, first-degree child molestation and failing to register as a sex offender.

The girl knew him by a first and last name that are completely different from his legal name. This isn’t the first time the man has been accused of a sex crime. In 1997, when he was a juvenile, he was found guilty of second-degree incest.

He was convicted in 2009 in Clallam County for third-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes. He was sentenced to five years in prison.

He’s accused of failing to register as a sex offender when he lived in Everett. Charges say he didn’t notify Kittitas County, the last place he registered, when he moved away.

He was arrested Jan. 16 in Kittitas County and booked into the Snohomish County Jail, where he remained Friday. His bail is set at $500,000.

“It is clear to the state that the defendant is sexually deviant and will continue to pose a threat to this victim and additional children if he is not in custody,” prosecutors wrote.

His next court hearing is scheduled for April.

Zachariah Bryan: 425-339-3431; zbryan@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @zachariahtb.