PORT TOWNSEND — A Port Townsend man charged with two counts of first-degree child rape will have his case retried this summer after a jury was unable to reach a verdict in the first trial.
Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Keith Harper set a new four-day trial to begin June 22 for Nathaniel Thomas Caylor, 39, who also is charged with first-degree child molestation.
A jury was deadlocked Jan. 30 after six hours of deliberations.
Defense attorney Scott Charlton of Jefferson Associated Counsel also asked for bail to be reduced, although Harper continued the discussion to this Friday.
Caylor posted a $100,000 bond shortly after he was arrested last March, and the bond company has required him to be on electronic home monitoring at $450 per month since then, Charlton said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Julie St. Marie argued there hasn’t been a change in circumstances since Caylor’s arraignment.
“We had a trial, and both parties are aware this came very close to a conviction,” she said Friday.
Charlton disagreed, saying there were two jurors who were “holdouts” and two others who were “uncertain.”
“The numbers were quite fluid,” he said.
Court appearances
Charlton argued Caylor is not a flight risk because he’s made all of his court appearances and he’s been in close contact with him.
“He knows this is going back to trial, and he was here for the last go-round,” Charlton said.
He also argued the electronic home monitoring is causing a financial hardship that’s not imposed by the court.
St. Marie countered, saying there are safety concerns.
“Due to the nature of the allegations, there is reason to be concerned for the community,” she said.
Harper was willing to listen to the hardship and asked Charlton to contact the bond company to determine the highest bail amount possible without the company’s requirement of electronic home monitoring.
“He’s already ordered not to be in any contact with minor females, and there are no allegations of any violations of that,” Harper said.
“I don’t think it’s fair, equitable or reasonable,” he added about the monthly payment not imposed by the court.
For the June trial, Charlton asked for the summer date due to the unavailability of a key witness to testify.
Charlton said Caylor’s son is going to school in Michigan, and it would be expensive to fly him to the county on taxpayers’ expense.
“I don’t really accept the true unavailability,” St. Marie said. “Setting it out this far doesn’t necessarily seem justified.”
Harper sided with Charlton and set the date for June.
The charges against Caylor stem from three separate incidents that involved a girl who was 8 at the time of the first occurrence in early 2018, according to court documents.
All three crimes are Class A felonies punishable by a maximum of life in prison and/or a $50,000 fine.
Caylor pleaded not guilty to all three charges last March.
Court documents said Caylor is a family friend who had been asked to babysit the girl on at least one occasion at Caylor’s house. The girl is friends with Caylor’s 10-year-old son, the documents stated.
The alleged victim told police Caylor grabbed her chest in one incident, performed oral sex on her twice and forced her to perform oral sex on him in a separate occurrence, according to the probable cause statement.
The girl said she believed Caylor was drunk on two of the occasions and that he may have been sleeping or thought she was Caylor’s girlfriend, according to court documents.
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Jefferson County Managing Editor Brian McLean can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 6, or at bmclean@peninsuladailynews.com.
