PORT ANGELES — A court hearing for the former Mountain View Christian School principal, who is charged with raping and molesting two of his students, was postponed because his attorney was ill.
Douglas J. Allison’s trial reset hearing was rescheduled Friday for 1:30 p.m. this Friday.
Allison’s attorney, Harry Gasnick of Clallam Public Defender, was not available for the status hearing.
“The last time I talked to Mr. Gasnick, there was some indication there was going to be an evaluation done on Mr. Allison,” said Michele Devlin, Clallam County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney.
“I’m fine setting it over one week for Mr. Gasnick to be here.”
Allison, the former head teacher and principal at the small private school near Sequim, is charged with eight counts of first-degree child molestation and four counts of first-degree rape of a child for alleged crimes that occurred during his classes earlier this school year.
The 55-year-old Sequim man pleaded not guilty to the charges.
He is being held in the Clallam County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail.
In an April 29 court hearing, Gasnick said he had 39 discs of interviews to review and that more discovery was coming in. The discs include police interviews with Allison’s former students.
Devlin reported Friday that nearly all the discovery had been sent to the defense.
Allison has waived his right to a speedy trial through the end of August.
“I know Mr. Gasnick, last time we were together, he was concerned about the amount of discovery that was coming in,” Clallam County Superior Court Judge Christopher Melly said Friday.
“Let’s put it over for one week. We’ll have him here. Hopefully he’ll be back on his feet and we can pick some dates that we think are realistic.”
All 12 charges against Allison contain a special allegation that he “used his position of trust, confidence or fiduciary responsibility to facilitate the commission of the current offense.”
Allison is accused of committing the crimes against two female students, ages 10 and 11, during classes while other students were studying.
He was arrested March 29 after a Clallam County Sheriff’s Office investigation.
Allison was fired and replaced by the Washington Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, which runs the school, after the allegations surfaced.
Mountain View Christian School hosted a parents-only workshop with representatives of Healthy Families of Clallam County after Allison’s arrest.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
