PORT ANGELES — A 35-year-old Port Angeles woman who said she identifies as a 15-year-old will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. today on one count of distribution of a controlled substance (marijuana/cannabis) to a minor.
The arrest comes after eight Port Angeles High School students allegedly were going to accompany the woman to Seattle.
Amanda H. Dorrough, 35, of Port Angeles was booked into the Clallam County jail at 1:30 p.m. last Friday, May 4, for investigation of unlawful harboring of a minor, a gross misdemeanor.
On Saturday, May 5, that charge was dismissed and replaced with the distribution charge, which is a Class B felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $20,000.
Bail was set at $5,000 based upon the prosecuting attorney’s concerns for the safety of other students. Dorrough still was listed on the jail roster as of early Thursday afternoon.
If Dorrough makes bail, she is prohibited from having any contact with one of the alleged victims as well as anyone under the age of 18. She also is prohibited from coming within 500 feet of any school district property or 200 feet of any state, county or city parks.
At her initial appearance on Monday, Dorrough elected to invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and her Sixth Amendment right to have attorney present during all questioning.
The probable cause statement filed Monday in Clallam County Superior Court gave the following account of events leading up to and following Dorrough’s arrest. It was based upon an interview last Saturday between a child forensic interviewer and one of the students:
Two students told Port Angeles High School Vice Principal Tiffinny Blore on May 4 that eight students were planning to run away to Seattle with “Taz,” which is an alias for Dorrough.
All eight students hang out with Dorrough in the gully near the corner of South Race Street and East Park Avenue.
Port Angeles police said they have received several recent reports of Dorrough having runaway students in her apartment, including some of the eight who were planning to run away with her.
Officers later located Dorrough in the gully sitting next to a student who had been listed as a runaway on May 2. Five other students were located nearby, one of whom was listed as a runaway and one of whom had a juvenile warrant.
Since Dorrough had been informed the day before that one of the students was a runaway, she was arrested and booked into Clallam County jail on May 3 for investigation of one count of unlawful harboring of a minor.
According to the probable cause statement, the student said he doesn’t like Dorrough because she is “kind of weird toward him” and “pedophile-ish.” After she told him she liked him, he doesn’t like her because she is an adult and he is a child she got mad and almost killed herself, the student said.
Dorrough walked around naked in front of the student and his friends before they expressed revulsion and left, according to the statement. She had provided food, water, marijuana and alcohol to the students on that and previous occasions, the students said.
Dorrough then told the students to go to Port Townsend to avoid being caught as runaways. She also told them she wanted to leave the area so she would not get in trouble for harboring minors.
According to the probable cause statement, an officer then filed another booking charge for “distribution of a controlled substance to a minor.”
The probable cause statement also gave the following account of events based upon an officer’s interview with Dorrough:
Dorrough told the arresting officer while walking out of the ravine that she had not seen or heard of the student that the officer had asked her about.
While being booked, Dorrough told jail staff that she identifies as a 15-year-old. Prior to her arrest she told the arresting officer that she feels like teenagers “understand” her better and that she “identifies” better with teenagers. The previous week she had told an officer that she identifies as a teenage boy.
Items found in the gully area where the students were found included two empty condom packets, one unopened condom, a bra, an empty pack of cigarettes and a lighter, according to court documents.
Since April 11, 2023, law enforcement has received 11 calls about Dorrough allegedly displaying inappropriate behavior with juveniles, police said.
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Reporter Brian Gawley can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at brian.gawley@sound publishing.com.