PORT ANGELES — A 19-year-old Sequim man was charged with second-degree rape Wednesday in connection with the alcohol-related 2017 assault of a 15-year-old girl who was described by the man as a friend.
The girl was attacked in the woods across from Railroad Bridge Park in Sequim shortly before 6 p.m. March 26, 2017, according to the probable cause statement.
Ryan Allen Carney will be arraigned at 9 a.m. Aug. 31 on a charge of second-degree rape-incapable of consent.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Chris Melly set Carney’s bail at $25,000 Wednesday at Carney’s first court appearance.
“The court has concerns with regard to the alleged vulnerability and minority of the victim, the allegation that you were a prime mover in getting her intoxicated, and when she became intoxicated, the allegation is that you had sex with her when she was passed out,” Melly said.
Carney denied having sex with the girl, according to a probable cause statement.
The two were at Railroad Bridge Park on March 26, 2017 when Carney, then 18, called 9-1-1 at 5:51 p.m. to report that the girl was too intoxicated to stand up, according to the statement.
He told first responders that the girl had drunk five or six shots of vodka and that he had not had anything to drink, according to the statement.
He led them to the girl’s “secret spot” in the woods, where she was lying in a fetal position and nonresponsive.
She was transported out of the woods in a stair chair and taken to Olympic Medical Center, where she recorded a blood alcohol level of .187, more than twice the legal limit of .08, according to the statement.
Hospital staff helping her use the bathroom discovered dirt and debris inside her clothing and skin, the statement said.
The girl, now 17, told authorities she did not remember anything after she and Carney started kissing at the park. She said she did not consent to having intercourse.
A sexual assault kit was processed by the State Patrol Crime Lab that contained evidence that matched Carney’s DNA with the assault, according to the probable cause statement.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@ peninsuladailynews.com.
