REVEALED: WA man charged with child rape faked own death, lived double life as a maintenance man named ‘Mark Clemens’ in California: police

Christian R. Basham, 56, was charged with second-degree child rape in 2008. The incident occurred in Bremerton, Washington. He was released after posting a $350,000 bail, per ABC 7 News.

In March 2009, a witness reported seeing Basham jump off of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge. Police located his car along with a suicide note. His body was never found and he was presumed dead.

It wasn't until this week that authorities discovered Basham did not die from the jump.

A Los Angeles County medical examiner received the dead body of a man named "Mark Clemens." The medical examiner later determined that the body belonged to a man named Christian R. Basham. Police were alerted to the discovery and the Bremerton Police Department confirmed the case.

After faking his own death, Basham moved to the Los Angeles area and began going by a new identity as a man named "Mark Clemens." He worked as a maintenance man at a building in Los Angeles.

Those who knew "Clemens" were shocked after learning about the discovery.

Tommy Cuellar, who lived next door to Basham, told ABC 7 News that he found the revelation troubling.

"Very shocking," said Cuellar. "This was our maintenance guy. This was the guy who had keys to our apartments. It was troubling to say the least, as you could imagine."

According to the Bremerton Police Department, additional research will now be done to determine Basham's whereabouts and activities following 2009.