Our four-part series, “Dumping a Rape Case, and its Victim,” examined how Jefferson County Prosecutor Michael Haas mishandled the rape case against Patrick McAllister and mistreated the victim.  Haas refused to meet her, a young Filipino woman with the initials SL, and avoided telephone calls from her and her family. He did nothing to prepare the case for trial. He ultimately sent her an email that he was dropping all charges against a man previously convicted of raping and assaulting her over a six-week period.

Our investigation revealed how Haas agreed to the no-bail release of McAllister and misrepresented to the court that the victim consented–when he had never spoken with her.

The investigation showed how Haas put her through the ordeal of a gruleing, no-holds barred interrogation by McAllister’s investigator and attorney, and then agreed to give them a second shot at her.  It was such an improper procedure that Haas’ own chief deputy criminal prosecutor went to court to stop it.

Our investigation revealed much more about Haas’ mistreatment of a rape victim and his mishandling of a case against a man with a long history of sexually assaulting women.  SL has completed a formal complaint to the Washington State Bar Association which we have been told will be filed when SL returns from visiting family in the Philippines.

SL describes Temur Perkins as her brother.  In America we would call him a brother-in-law.  But as they explain it, for Filipinos, who value family so highly, that is the same as being a sibling.  He was there helping SL get out of McAllister’s house as a Jefferson County Sheriff’s sergeant held McAllister at bay.  He was closely involved with the first prosecution and testified at trial.  He conducted his own investigation which uncovered sexual assaults by McAllister of other women.  Throughout SL’s ordeal he has been at her side.

On behalf of SL, he submitted a letter to the Port Townsend Leader about Haas’ conduct.  The Leader has had that letter for weeks.  Weeks ago we asked the editor if they were going to publish the letter.  They have been running letters praising Haas, including one praising his handling of sexual assault cases.  That letter was not from a sexual assault survivor.  We had hoped they would run a letter from someone who had personal experience with Haas’ handling of a sexual assault case. The editor said she would be discussing Mr. Perkins’ letter with the publisher.

We encouraged The Leader to run Mr. Perkins’ letter because of the harm they had inflicted on SL by their one-sided, superficial coverage of the dismissal of the charges against McAllister.  They ran a story that was little more than a press release for the defense.  It repeated McAllister’s fabricated claim that he was physically incapable of having raped SL, due to the implant of an artificial knee that limited his range of motion so severely he argued he could not get into a bathtub unassisted (SL said he had raped her against the wall in a bathtub, among other instances of assault).  Our investigation revealed this defense to be a complete lie–the knee surgery did not take place until a year after SL said McAllister had raped and beaten her.

The Leader’s reporter made no effort to contact SL, anyone who investigated the case or the prosecutor who had previously won the conviction of McAllister.

In our first conversation with SL she told us how The Leader had made her look like a liar and had hurt her deeply.  We heard the same from Mr. Perkins.  In drive-by reporting The Leader merely repeated the lies of a rapist and retraumatized a rape victim.

It is clear by now that The Leader wishes to ignore the injustice it has done and will not publish the letter of behalf of a rape victim.  Her side needs to be heard by this community.  Her voice deserves to be heard.  Mr. Perkins worked hard to cram what he had to say into the paper’s 300-word limit for letters to the editor, though he and SL have much more to say about Mr. Haas and what he did to them and their family.

Here, with Mr. Perkins’ permission, is the letter The Leader will not publish:

I am the brother-in-law of rape victim SL. I am knowledgeable about the facts of the crime and my wife and I were witnesses at the first trial. The previous prosecutor Rosekrans treated my sister with utmost dignity and respect. We knew whose side he was on. He fought for justice for my sister. The people of Jefferson County need to know how disrespectful, abusive, evasive and dishonest the current Prosecutor Michael Haas has been towards SL.

Her rapist was released on appeal and SL courageously sought a new trial. Haas refused to meet SL in person, and when SL was finally able to catch him on the phone, he scheduled a phone appointment with her. He dodged her yet again, he didn’t answer at the appointed time. Haas then dropped the charges without consulting her and lied to the judge.

His abuse goes beyond inaccessibility, laziness, and callous indifference. Haas secretly distributed photographs taken during her Sexual Assault Nurse Exam (SANE) to the defense team. These close-up photographs of victims in an injured and degraded state cannot be released without a court review and order. Because Haas broke the law, her rapist may now possess theses photos as a trophy. Haas re-victimized my sister and gave her rapist leverage to silence her testimony out of fear that he will publicize the photos. Haas also secretly gave the defense team unrestricted access to all of SL’s email and social media accounts. Those accounts reveal where her and her family members live, and contain numerous private photos of them and their children. Possession of SANE photos and contact information for everyone give her rapist considerable power. Haas’ secret, malicious, and illegal actions have been emotionally devastating to my sister. Haas has endangered her safety, our safety, and your safety.

 

Our four-part investigation, “Dumping A Rape Case, and Its Victim” can be read at these links:

Part 1 Introduction

Part 2 A One-Way Street to Dismissal

Part 3 Alone and Unprotected

Part 4 The Conclusion:  Setting the Guilty Free

and, “The Questions Michael Haas Won’t Answer”