Molester subbed at several schools

A Spokane Valley child molester who faces trial in May on a new molestation charge was a substitute teacher in public and parochial schools as well as being a Scoutmaster.

Ralph Emerson “Ray” Willcox Jr., 58, was an infrequent substitute teacher in several school districts – including Spokane, Central Valley and East Valley – and in the St. Mary School of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane.

Representatives of all the school systems say Willcox was never accused of doing anything improper in a school. Willcox couldn’t be reached for comment.

Willcox also had contact with children as an instructor and participant in old-time fiddling events, including teaching a weekly Old-Fiddlers Association workshop at North Pines Middle School.

“Kids love fiddle music,” Willcox said in a 1995 Spokesman-Review article about the fiddling program. “It puts them in a spin.”

Court documents say Willcox admitted in a lie-detector test after his November 2001 conviction for molesting a 14-year-old boy that he had abused 12 other victims, starting when he was 20 years old.

The test was part of an investigation that found Willcox violated his probation by failing to stay away from two minors, although no molestation was alleged.

Willcox’s resume indicates he was a mining geologist when he abused the 14-year-old boy and allegedly abused a 9-year-old boy, but he obtained a teaching certificate on Jan. 30, 2001. He did his student teaching at Greenacres Middle School in the Central Valley School District, according to his application to be a substitute teacher in the East Valley School District.

Willcox was charged on Nov. 6, 2003, with communication with a minor for immoral purposes, and he pleaded guilty the same day. The 14-year-old victim was an old-time fiddler as well as a member of Willcox’s Boy Scout troop.

Court documents say the boy told authorities that Willcox tickled him, fondled him under his clothing and talked about masturbation, the color of sperm and other sexual topics while they sat together on a chair.

The boy told his parents, and his father confronted Willcox, who admitted making a “huge mistake,” according to a sheriff’s affidavit. The boy’s father attempted to resolve the issue by forcing Willcox to get Christian counseling and resign from a position that gave him access to children.

Court documents don’t identify the position, but Inland Northwest Boy Scout director Tim McCandless said the father also contacted Scouting officials, and Willcox was removed as Scoutmaster of Troop 413.

McCandless said his records indicated the molestation occurred in a hotel room during a trip unrelated to Scouting.

Troop 413 is sponsored by the Catholic Knights of Columbus and is associated with the St. Joseph Parish in Otis Orchards.

The Rev. Steve Dublinski, vicar general of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane, reported Willcox to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office when he sought counseling from a priest.

In a statement this week, Dublinski said he was wrong last month when he told The Spokesman-Review that Willcox had no connection with Catholic schools except as a parishioner.

In fact, documents obtained from the state superintendent of public instruction indicate diocesan school superintendent Duane Schafer identified Willcox as a former substitute teacher when he reported the allegations against Willcox on Aug. 29, 2003 – after being informed by Dublinski.

State officials tentatively revoked Willcox’s teaching certificate on Dec. 18, 2003, and he declined to appeal the decision.

Central Valley spokeswoman Melanie Rose said Willcox substituted in many district schools, averaging 33 days a year during his three-year teaching career.

Rose said Willcox taught elementary through high school classes until he asked to be taken off the district’s substitute teacher list in August 2003.

Dale McLaughlin, human resources manager for the East Valley School District, said Willcox taught infrequently there for three years and was removed from the substitute teacher list in 2004 when he failed to respond to calls.

Spokane Public Schools spokeswoman Terren Roloff said Willcox averaged 30 days a year there from 2001 to 2003. About two-thirds of his work was at high schools, and the rest was at middle schools, Roloff said.

An effort to reach a West Valley School District spokesman Thursday was unsuccessful.

Dublinski said in a written statement Wednesday that records indicate Willcox’s substitute teaching experience in Spokane Catholic schools was limited to 3 1/2 hours on April 2, 2001. However, Dublinski stated, Willcox “volunteered as a guest speaker on geology a number of times.”

Willcox applied to be a substitute teacher in Catholic schools in November 2000 and passed a Washington State Patrol background check that year as well as an FBI check in 2003, Dublinski stated. He said Willcox was removed from the substitute list in September 2003 because of his reported abuse as a Scoutmaster.

Dublinski said the allegations were read to St. Mary’s and St. Joseph’s parishioners in a September 2003 letter from Bishop William Skylstad, and no one responded to a request for any additional victims to come forward.

Sheriff’s Detective Dave Skogen said Willcox was suspected at the time of also molesting a 9-year-old boy, but the boy declined to talk at the time. Earlier this year the boy came forward to accuse Willcox, and he was charged with first-degree child molestation

The alleged second victim was the son of a family friend and was not a Boy Scout, Skogen said.