The male student who sexually assaulted another student while at a Bellingham high school has been sentenced.
The male student will receive credit for the 17 weeks and five days he has already served while awaiting a resolution in his case. The state juvenile rehabilitation administration will determine how much of the remaining time of his sentence he will serve. The boy previously pleaded guilty May 17 to two counts of fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation. He had initially been charged with one count of indecent liberties by forcible compulsion, which is a felony, for assaulting a thenyear-old female student in November and December while they both attended Squalicum High School, the Bellingham Herald previously reported.
His charges were amended down as part of an agreed plea deal that resolved the assault case and two other unrelated criminal court cases he was facing. The boy was expected to undergo an evaluation for a special sex offender disposition alternative, which would have allowed him to participate in treatment. Instead, the agreed-upon manifest injustice sentence above the standard range was presented at his disposition hearing Wednesday, court records show.
The manner in which it was conducted and the choices that were made by the investigator, who is now under investigation for reasons that have not been shared with me, continue to leave me troubled. Dunham and Maude Chimere Hackney β have pleaded not guilty to one count each of failure to report, a gross misdemeanor, in Whatcom County District Court. All three administrators are mandatory reporters and are required by state law to report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child to law enforcement or DCYF.
The former Squalicum High School student who has accused the district of mishandling her sexual assault reports filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Dec. The jury trial for the three administrators is set to begin on Aug. McGinty β is now himself the subject of an internal administrative investigation and a criminal investigation. The school district is providing legal defense for the three administrators, which state law mandates for public employers required to report abuse.
