A 25-year-old convicted sex offender was arrested last Tuesday on new charges that he had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.

Dakota E. Welch, Route 2, Box 275B, Kingfisher, remains jailed on $80,000 bond on two charges of lewd molestation or second-degree rape, two charges of forcible sodomy, failing to register as a sex offender and violating safety zones around playgrounds.

He also faces a misdemeanor charge of harboring a runaway child.

Welch was charged after prior felony convictions for second-degree rape in 2015 and violation of sex offender registration and leaving the scene of an injury accident in 2017, all filed in Kingfisher County District Court.

If convicted on the new charges, he faces up to life in prison.

According to an affidavit signed by Kingfisher Police Sgt. Justin Trumbley, police officers found Welch with the 14-year-old girl under the train bridge on the south side of Kingfisher Creek Sept. 30 after her family had reported her as a runaway.

Welch fled the scene but turned himself in a few days later and was interviewed by Trumbley at the Kingfisher County Jail, according to the affidavit.

Welch told Trumbley he began a relationship with the alleged victim over social media over a period of several weeks and entered her bedroom through a window on more than one occasion, according to the affidavit.

Welch told Trumbley he thought the girl was 16 years old.

Welch pleaded not guilty to all charges last Wednesday and remains jailed on $80,000 bond.

He is due back in court at 9 a.m. Oct. 27.