PORT TOWNSEND — A Hoh tribal law enforcement officer has pleaded not guilty to charges that he had an ongoing sexual relationship with a 15-year-old girl on the West End of Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Fisheries Enforcement Officer Ernest Allen Penn, 43, appeared in Jefferson County Superior Court on Friday for an arraignment.
He is charged with third-degree rape of a child and communication with a minor for immoral purposes in Jefferson County.
A trial was scheduled for May 20-22.
He also is charged in Clallam County with five counts of third-degree rape of a child and one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes.
He has not appeared in Clallam County Superior Court.
A temporary extreme risk protection order was granted in Jefferson County as well. Penn is prohibited from having firearms in his custody and is required to surrender all firearms.
A hearing will be held Friday to determine whether the extreme risk protection order should be extended a year.
The girl told law enforcement a long-term sexual relationship started around October 2017 when she was 15.
Text messages show that Penn would text her while he was on duty as a Hoh Tribal Officer and he would describe the work he was doing, records say.
The girl told authorities that Penn told her he wouldn’t go to jail and that he would probably kill himself. He also told her he would kill himself if she left him, she reportedly said.
Penn on Tuesday remained in the Jefferson County jail held on $300,060 bail, according to jail records.
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Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.
