TACOMA — The state Court of Appeals has reversed the 2006 Jefferson County Superior Court conviction of former Chimacum High School Principal Rex Whipple on nine counts of possessing child porn.
The jurists, by a 2-1 vote announced Tuesday, remanded the case back to Jefferson County.
And the county prosecuting attorney is discussing the matter with other prosecutors across the state before she decides whether to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court.
In the Division II appellate court’s majority opinion published Tuesday, Judges C.C. Bridgewater and Marywave Van Deren wrote that evidence against Whipple was “insufficient” to support the nine convictions for possession of child pornography.
They argued that the law requires that a minor must be involved in a sex act intended to stimulate the viewer.
“We found no evidence that the defendant initiated, contributed to or in any way influenced the girl’s conduct,” Bridgewater’s majority opinion states.
Dissenting appeals Judge Joel Penoyar said in his opinion the statute could cover situations where the minor is not posing for a photo or video.
“. . . I would not find any requirement that the defendant interact with the minor at the time of the filming,” Penoyar wrote in his opinion.
