PORT ANGELES — Child rape charges have been dismissed against a Port Angeles man because the statute of limitations has run its course.
Cory A. McCown, 57, was charged last July with two counts of second-degree child rape with special allegations that he abused a position of trust.
The alleged crimes occurred between August 2001 and September 2002 when the girl was between 12 and 13.
Under the current Revised Code of Washington, second-degree rape of a child can be prosecuted until the victim turns 30.
The alleged victim in the case turned 30 on Friday, court papers said.
“I was time-barred from prosecuting him, so that’s the reason why it was dismissed,” Clallam County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Michele Devlin said Monday.
“There’s not a lot more I can discuss.”
Court order
Superior Court Judge Erik Rohrer signed Friday an order dismissing the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be refiled.
McCown also was exonerated of a $5,000 bail he had paid and an order preventing him from having contact with the Yakima woman who accused him of raping her when she was a seventh-grade child living in Port Angeles.
McCown pleaded not guilty at his July 27 arraignment and has maintained his innocence.
He vehemently denied the allegations at his initial court appearance July 20, saying the woman’s claims were “completely spurious” and “bogus.”
The woman told Port Angeles police May 31 that McCown assaulted her when she was a child and while she was sleeping, according to the affidavit for probable cause.
A one-week trial was previously set to begin April 15.
Defense attorney Karen Unger filed a motion to dismiss the case Aug. 29, saying the statute of limitations at the time of the alleged offenses allowed for prosecution until the woman turned 21 or seven years after their commission, whichever comes later.
“To fall within the statute, alleged offense should have been reported no later than Sept. 21, 2009, or Sept. 20, 2009, which is both three years after the complaining witness’ 18th birthday or seven years after the offense was allegedly committed,” Unger wrote.
The statute of limitations for second-degree child rape was modified in 2013.
Other crimes against children that may be prosecuted until the victim’s 30th birthday are first and second-degree rape; first and third-degree rape of a child; first, second and third-degree child molestation, indecent liberties, incest and sexual exploitation of a minor, according to RCW 9A.04.080.
________
Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
