Herald Writer
Prosecutors have been given until Jan. 16 to file criminal charges in Snohomish County Superior Court related to a former youth basketball coach accused of raping and molesting young girls.
David W. Etheridge, 44, of Lynnwood was being held on $250,000 bail.
Etheridge is charged in Everett District Court with two counts each of first-degree child rape, first-degree child molestation and possessing child pornography. The prosecutor normally moves Everett District Court cases to Superior Court within a couple of weeks, or defendants are released from jail.
In the Etheridge case, defense lawyer Susan Gaer and deputy prosecutor Kathy Jo Kristof still are seeking information about the case, Gaer said Wednesday after an Everett District Court hearing.
The lawyers agreed to put off charging decisions on Etheridge, Gaer said. Judge Pro Tem Geoff Gibbs set the Jan. 16 date.
Etheridge turned himself in to Snohomish Country sheriff’s deputies in mid-December after several girls accused him of inappropriate sexual behavior. All the alleged assaults occurred when the girls stayed at Etheridge’s home and the girls were ages 8 or 9, the prosecutors said.
Two of the girls reported they had been on basketball teams that Etheridge coached.
The alleged illicit conduct happened between 1998 and 2001. The child pornography allegations resulted from a November search of Etheridge’s computer. According to court documents, detectives found about 500 images of child pornography on a computer disk.
The case originated when two girls, now 14, disclosed in November that Etheridge had molested them years earlier. The girls confided that information to a mutual friend, who told her mother.
Both girls gave detailed statements and identified Etheridge as the assailant, documents say. After published reports about the case, four more girls came forward, investigators said.
Etheridge is a former coach at Alderwood Boys and Girls Club. He left that position several years ago. He also coached girls basketball for Lynnwood Tigers Youth Sports until he resigned when the allegations came to light. Officials of both organizations said Etheridge passed background checks before being allowed to coach.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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