Trooper charged for failing to report father’s abuse

A Washington State Patrol trooper is facing criminal charges for failing to report allegations of sexual abuse against his father for two weeks.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist says Trooper Justin Hamrick was told during a birthday party that his father had been abusing at least two of his five adopted daughters for several years.

“He began abusing the girls when they were five or six-years-old and this went on into their teens,” Lindquist says.

The trooper’s father, Scott Hamrick, was a lieutenant with the local fire district. Scott Hamrick’s wife of 24 years was allegedly the first to tell the trooper about the suspected abuse. The younger Hamrick told his mother that if she didn’t act to stop it, he would have to do something.

Some time later, Drew Ann Hamrick told her son that she had forced her husband to move out of their home. Prosecutors say the trooper only reported the abuse weeks later after his older brother found out about the allegations.

Scott and Drew Ann Hamrick were arrested for child rape, assault, child neglect and domestic violence against three of their daughters.

Mrs. Hamrick has pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was sentenced to a year in prison. Scott Hamrick committed suicide the day before he would have been charged.

Trooper Justin Hamrick is on paid administrative leave pending further investigation.

“This may be the end of it for him. Certainly if he’s convicted, it’s the end of his career,” Lindquist says.