Charges Possible For Harboring Sex-Ring Witness Police Investigating County Commissioner For Taking In Runaway Teen

Police are investigating whether a Chelan County commissioner broke the law when he gave overnight shelter to a 13-year-old runaway who said she’d been pressured to lie about abuse in the so-called sex-ring cases.

Douglas County Sheriff Don LaRoche said Tuesday he was investigating Commissioner Earl Marcellus in the incident.

“Harboring a runaway is a (misdemeanor) crime in Washington state, and if there’s a possibility that law was broken, we’re going to investigate that,” LaRoche said.

The case is a low priority, though, and he said he was unsure when the investigation will be completed.

The girl in question testified at four trials that she had been sexually molested. Her parents were among 14 defendants in the case who pleaded guilty to such charges in 1994 and 1995. Of the 14 others charged, five were convicted, three were acquitted, charges against five were greatly reduced or dismissed, and one case is pending.

While at Marcellus’ home June 2, the girl told a Spokane television reporter she had lied about the abuse under pressure from her foster father, Wenatchee Police Detective Bob Perez, lead detective in the case.

Jurisdiction for any case against Marcellus was unclear.

The girl ran away from a Douglas County foster home to her grandmother’s East Wenatchee home. The grandmother called her minister - unordained pastor Robert “Roby” Roberson, who was acquitted of sex-abuse charges in the case last year. Roberson drove the girl to a restaurant in Peshastin, where Marcellus and his wife picked her up.

Chelan County officials, who also could claim jurisdiction, will ask an outside agency - probably the state attorney general’s office - to determine whether Marcellus should be charged, said Chelan County Undersheriff Daryl Mathena.

Chelan County officials think it would be inappropriate for a public official like Marcellus to be investigated by the county he serves in, Mathena said.

Marcellus said Tuesday he agreed with that.

He has admitted letting the girl stay at his home, saying he offered her a safe haven from investigators he contends had forced her to make false statements.

Marcellus said he does not believe he did anything wrong. “The legal advice I got that night…was that there were no legal problems in providing a safe home for this girl on a short-term basis,” he said.

Marcellus has publicly called for a grand jury investigation into the sex-ring case, supporting allegations that the investigations were a witch-hunt led by a rogue cop and supported by corrupt county officials.