Pastor Seeks $3 Million For Defamation Was Cleared Of Charges That He Torched His Winthrop Church

A minister cleared of charges that he torched his church filed a $3 million claim Wednesday against Okanogan County officials.

The Rev. Gordon P. Hutchins, a Twisp area pastor said he was defamed and falsely jailed after his arrest last summer.

The claim alleges that then-prosecuting attorney Barnett Kalikow and deputy prosecutor Harvey Rotman were negligent in their investigation and presented “false, misleading and inaccurate affidavits to the court in order to obtain an arrest warrant.”

There was no answer to calls made to Kalikow’s and Rotman’s homes on Wednesday.

The claim asks money for Hutchins and his wife, Linda, for false arrest and imprisonment, defamation of character, loss of professional reputation and violation of his civil rights.

Charges of first-degree arson against Hutchins were later dropped when a special prosecutor found the case lacked evidence to proceed to a jury trial.

A claim is a first step toward a possible lawsuit against the county, which has 60 days to settle or deny it. After that, Hutchins would be free to pursue a lawsuit.

Hutchins said he filed the claim to repair his reputation, not profit.

“Three million dollars is not an issue,” he said. “I just want … more than anything else … I want this to be June again when I had a reputation and I had a professional image when I could walk down the street with my head up.”

Hutchins was arrested in July and accused of setting fire to the United Methodist Church in Winthrop on April 22 in an alleged scheme to collect $500,000 in insurance money.

Hutchins denied guilt and was supported by members of his congregation, who raised $50,000 bail.

Charges against Hutchins were dropped in late August after former Okanogan County Superior Court Judge Jim Thomas reviewed evidence and interviewed witnesses.

“If there were a way of protecting the rights of people in our community, and if the Okanogan County judicial system would assist me in recovering my losses, my real damages, this wouldn’t be necessary,” Hutchins said.

“I just know that something has to be done about the cavalier manner in which these things are done,” he said. “I want my life back.”