Port Townsend man faces trial in Sequim molestation case; charges also pending in Snohomish County

PORT ANGELES — A July 21 jury trial has been set for a Port Townsend man accused of molesting a 9-year-old girl in a pool at the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center in May.

The Clallam County Superior Court hearing last week for Joshua David Larson, 39, comes as Larson also faces a child-molestation charge in Snohomish County based on allegations he abused a child at a Thanksgiving dinner last year in north Snohomish County, according to a June 6 Everett Herald article.

Larson was charged in Clallam County Superior Court on May 29 with a single count of child molestation and pleaded not guilty at Friday’s hearing, according to court documents.

He remained in the county jail Sunday on $25,000 bail.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

A Sequim Police report gave this account of events on May 18 leading to Larson’s arrest in the Sequim case:

Sequim officer Maris Turner spoke with a 9-year-old girl who told her a man who was a stranger to her touched her inappropriately while they were in the pool at the Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center, or SARC.

The girl told Turner she had been playing with the man, later identified as Larson, and his son in the small pool and that Larson had repeatedly touch her.

After Larson was identified based on SARC surveillance footage and the girl’s description, he was arrested without incident at his Port Townsend home May 23.

In an interview with Sequim police, Larson denied intentionally touching the girl but said he could have accidentally done so while they were playing.

The Herald reported that a Snohomish County Superior Court judge issued a $500,000 arrest warrant for Larson late last month, securing his transfer to the Everett jail if he’s released from the lockup in Clallam County.

The judge in the Snohomish County case had released Larson without bail, the Herald reported, following Larson’s arrest March 27 for the north Snohomish County case.

The Everett Herald reported that Larson also denied the north Snohomish County allegations, which were made in December by a girl he knew to her family.

________

Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Fred Lundahl, a pilot from Whidbey Island, prepares to fuel up his 1968 Cessna Aerobat, named Scarlett, at the Jefferson County International Airport in Port Townsend. Lundahl was picking up his plane Wednesday from Tailspin Tommy’s Aircraft Repair facility located at the airport. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Fueling up

Fred Lundahl, a pilot from Whidbey Island, prepares to fuel up his… Continue reading

After hours pet clinic set for Peninsula

Opening June 6 at Sequim location

Five to be honored with community service awards

Ceremony set Thursday at Port Angeles Senior Community Center

PASD planning for expanding needs

Special education, homelessness, new facilities under discussion

Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Animal Control Deputy Ed Bauck
Clallam Sheriff appoints animal control deputy

Position was vacant since end of 2024

Highway 104 road work to start week

Maintenance crews will repair road surfaces on state Highway… Continue reading

Supreme Court says no to recall reconsider

Sequim man found liable for legal fees

Chimacum Ridge seeks board members

Members to write policy, balance values, chair says

Fire destroys shop east of Port Angeles

A fire on Hickory Street east of Port Angeles… Continue reading

Jefferson Transit Authority to expand Kingston Express route

Jefferson Transit Authority has announced expanded service on its… Continue reading

From left to right, Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding students Krystol Pasecznyk and Scott McNair sand a Prothero Sloop with Sean Koomen, the school’s boat building program director. Koomen said the sanding would take one person a few days. He said the plan is to have 12 people sand it together, which will take a few hours. (Elijah Sussman/Peninsula Daily News)
Wooden boatbuilding school building ‘Twin Boats’

Students using traditional and cold-moulding construction techniques