PORT TOWNSEND — Rex Whipple, former Chimacum High School principal, will be in Jefferson County Superior Court 9 a.m. Monday for his first day of trial.
Whipple’s attorney, Alton McFadden of Bainbridge Island, will defend him against one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of voyeurism and 10 counts of possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
If convicted of all charges, Whipple could face 75 years in prison and a $130,000 fine.
In late August, McFadden waived the right to a trial by jury because of the amount of press coverage the case had received, explaining it would be difficult to find unbiased jurors.
Instead, testimony and evidence will be presented only to Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Craddock Verser.
Whipple was arrested March 13 following a trip to Arizona where his daughter-in-law said she found several videos of a 15-year-old Chimacum High School student in various stages of undress on Whipple’s school district-issued laptop computer.
The videos were shot without the girl’s knowledge, according to court documents, videotaped outside Whipple’s Port Ludlow home through a window.
McFadden plans to argue that someone else shot the videos and placed them on Whipple’s computer without his knowledge.
Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Juelie Dalzell will argue that Whipple shot the videos and knew they were on his computer.
The trial is expected to last about two weeks.
