PORT TOWNSEND — The defense received three favorable rulings during a hearing before the July 12 retrial of accused child molester Harold Peacock on Friday, but their gains were minimal, according to the prosecutor.
“I don’t see this as a real setback,” Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Scott Rosekrans said after the rulings. “It didn’t really give them an advantage they had before.
“The judge granted him access to certain information, but I can still object to its relevance at trial.”
Kitsap County Superior Court Judge M. Karlynn Haberly also denied Rosekrans’ motion to restrict pretrial publicity.
Peacock, 69, is scheduled for retrial at 9 a.m. July 12, in Jefferson County Superior Court, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
The Port Townsend man was tried in May on two counts of rape of a child in the first degree and three counts of child molestation in the first degree, but the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
Haberly allowed Peacock’s attorney, David Allen, access to counseling records of the girl Peacock is accused of molesting as long as they were kept confidential, and also granted him access to interview records between a Jefferson County Sheriff’s deputy and the girl.
Allen had requested the release of counseling records from sessions between the girl and her therapist, along with a request that the attorney be allowed to interview the doctor.
Allen said the counseling records could contain evidence that will exonerate his client, whose rights were violated by a failure to disclose certain details during the first trial.
Rosekrans argued that none of the evidence contained in these records would have made a difference in the trial, and that it could be used to impeach the credibility of the witness.
“I am worried that this can be used in the same way as the sexual history of a woman can be used in a rape case,” Rosekrans said.
“If they can say she was under treatment, they can question her sanity and veracity as a witness.”
Allen promised that no details of the therapy would be divulged in court or even to Peacock.
“I will only disclose this to my client in the most general terms,” he said. “Mr. Peacock will be told that he cannot reveal details of anything he has heard about the sessions.”
The judge also granted Allen access to interview records between a sheriff’s deputy and the girl, in which she allegedly said that another girl had not been molested.
Allen feels this also could exonerate Peacock, while Rosekrans said that the interview material was irrelevant because the victim was still trying to protect herself.
“The interview had to do with another case and the victim was answering questions in that context,” he said.
“The trial allegations came to light after these interviews were conducted.”
Rosekrans filed a motion to restrict pre-trial publicity after stories on the case were published in the Peninsula Daily News and the weekly Port Townsend Leader.
The motion read in part, “preserving the right to a fair trial necessarily requires some curtailment of some information that may be disseminated. . . . especially when trial by jury is involved.”
“These types of statements in the media tend to make jury selection more difficult,” Rosekrans said.
“This isn’t a free speech issue when it poisons the jury pool.”
Allen argued that “a gag order is not appropriate” and Haberly did not impose any additional restrictions.
Allen declined any further comment about the case after the rulings.
Peacock also is charged with one count of assault on a child but that is to be tried separately.
An assault trial has not been scheduled and will follow the next trial, Rosekrans said.
According to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at the time of Peacock’s arrest:
Deputies said that one of five children at Peacock’s home had said that he had beaten him.
The ages and genders of all the children were not available, but the reports included a 15-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy who referred to the alleged victim as his “little brother” and at least one 13-year-old.
Deputies found bruising, welts and scratches on the child.
The five children told deputies that a few of them had watched the beating and that Peacock had struck a second child.
On June 18, deputies interviewed one of the children who told them Peacock had molested her for about three years between 2003 and 2007.
Peacock was charged in court with assault on June 18 and with molestation and rape charges on June 22.
Rosekrans said at the time that the five children had been removed from the home.
Peacock has bailed out of the Jefferson County jail, and is living at home under a monitoring agreement.
During Friday’s telephone hearing, Rosekrans was in his Port Townsend office, Allen was in Seattle and Haberly was in Port Orchard.
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Jefferson County reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.