Mistrial declared in child rape case involving a coach with Seattle Public Schools

A mistrial was declared in the case against Walter Jones after a King County jury could not reach a verdict.

Walter Jones, a former volunteer coach with Seattle Public Schools (SPS), has been accused of repeatedly raping a former Garfield High School student. According to The Seattle Times, he faces four counts of child rape and could get up to 23 years in prison if convicted.

Judge Michael Ryan declared the mistrial late Tuesday morning after five days of deliberations. Deliberations were delayed multiple times because alternate jurors had to be called up and the Thanksgiving holiday interrupted the trial. Prosecutors said they will meet soon to decide what happens next.

Trial against Walter Jones

Jones is accused of raping an eighth grader from Washington Middle School in 2013 while he was a volunteer weightlifting coach at Garfield High School. The eighth-grade student was practicing with the high school basketball team, according to The Seattle Times.

Prosecutors claimed Jones continued to rape the underage student throughout her high school tenure, occurring both on and off campus. Jones was 23 years older than the student. She didn’t report the rapes until 2021.

According to The Seattle Times, defense attorneys argued that the former student fabricated this story after overhearing Jones tell a group of football players to stay away from her. The police report was filed merely to prove to her boyfriend that she wasn’t lying about Jones.

Her boyfriend during this time was Marvin Hall, an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Garfield High School. Hall and Jones were both named in a civil case filed last year against SPS, arguing the district failed to protect her from emotionally and sexually abusive coaches. Hall pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor last summer.

The civil lawsuit resulted in a $16 million settlement, the largest in SPS history.

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