Boy accused in molestation case gets locked up

A 14-year-old Spokane Valley boy was sent to juvenile detention Friday for immediately violating conditions of his release while awaiting arraignment on two counts of first-degree child molestation.

Juvenile Court Judge Ellen Kalama Clark released the boy Wednesday on condition that his parents keep an eye on him continuously and that he have no potential contact with the 4- and 7-year-old neighbor boys he is accused of molesting. Clark rejected Deputy Prosecutor Bill Reeves’ call for the boy to be monitored electronically if not locked up.

On Friday, Deputy Prosecutor Lynn Mounsey renewed the call for stronger measures when juvenile probation officer Jolene Harden reported that the suspect “clearly violated his release conditions within hours of going home.”

In addition to playing outside without his parents’ supervision, Harden said the boy may have violated his release conditions by having contact with younger children. She said she also was concerned about reports that the boy’s older siblings were taunting and intimidating the alleged victims’ family by staring at them and training car lights on their home.

While she was investigating the complaints, Harden said, one of the suspect’s sisters asked why the 7-year-old neighbor was allowed to be outside if her brother couldn’t.

“That just blew me away,” Harden told Clark.

Eric Pilon, an intern in the Public Defender’s Office, said some of the problems may have resulted from inability to explain the conditions adequately to the boy’s Russian-speaking parents.

Speaking through an interpreter, the boy’s mother said his outside activities were supervised by his 18-year-old brother. Also, she said she looked outside every three minutes.

Every three minutes wasn’t good enough, Clark said, summoning detention officers to incarcerate the boy until his arraignment on Sept. 29.

If convicted as charged, the boy could be sentenced to as much as 1 1/3 years in a state juvenile detention center.

In another detention hearing Friday, Clark ordered electronic home monitoring for the 15-year-old boy charged with first-degree arson for allegedly setting fire to the Oaks Academy, 4224 E. Fourth, on June 2.

Also, Jessica Poindexter, the 14-year-old girl accused of illegally fleeing with her baby to avoid intervention by Child Protective Services, agreed to remain in custody until she is arraigned.