Derwin Pasley, 32, a coach with the league for nine years, was arrested on suspicion of attempted third-degree child rape, third-degree child molestation and unlawful imprisonment with sexual motivation.
Charles Farrar, president of the football league, said Tuesday that he was shocked to hear of the accusations against Pasley, whom he considers a friend.
Pasley passed a Washington State Patrol criminal background check when he was hired, then passed subsequent criminal background check updates every couple of years, Farrar said.
According to court records, Pasley was arrested on suspicion of a felony sex offense against a child in Miami-Dade County, Fla., in 1994. He subsequently was acquitted of the two counts of sexual battery of a minor, Olympia Police Cmdr. Tor Bjornstad said. In 2002, the Olympia Police Department conducted a criminal investigation into whether Pasley committed a sex offense against a child, but the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office decided not to file charges based on a lack of evidence, Bjornstad said.
Bjornstad said the 2002 complaint against Pasley involved behavior that occurred when he was acting in some capacity as a youth pastor.
State law bars unfounded child-abuse allegations from third-party disclosure, State Patrol Sgt. Freddy Williams said. Olympia police detective Brenda Anderson confirmed Tuesday that the prior allegations against Pasley would not show up on a criminal background check.
“I have never received a complaint about this coach,” Farrar said Tuesday. “There’s a grown man and a young kid, and one of them’s lying.”
Anderson said in a phone interview Tuesday that one of the reasons Pasley was arrested Monday night is that Farrar did not assure her that Pasley would be kept away from other children.
Farrar said that was untrue. He said Anderson is “cherry-picking” statements he made when she called him, and he told her he was “having a hard time wrapping my head around this.”
“I never said that I believed (Pasley) over the kid,” Farrar said.
Farrar said the season ended Saturday for the team Pasley was coaching. Farrar added that after he heard about the allegation against Pasley, he told Pasley to find someone else to contact players on the team to notify them about upcoming league events.
“He wasn’t going to be having any further contact with kids,” Farrar said.
According to court papers:
The 14-year-old told police that Pasley drove him and his younger brother home from a game Saturday. When they arrived at the home, Pasley told the younger boy to exit the vehicle and go inside. The 14-year-old said Pasley then forcibly molested him. The boy “stated he refused several times as he was extremely upset stating that he was screaming and yelling to be let out of the vehicle.” He said that during the incident, he heard the car doors lock.
Farrar said there are 21 teams in the Black Hills Junior Football League, and the players on the team are in second through eighth grades. The league is private and is not affiliated with any school district.
Olympia Police Lt. Jim Costa said Tuesday that the case is still under investigation. Anyone with further information that might assist police is asked to call Anderson at 360-753-8413.
Jeremy Pawloski: 360-754-5465
jpawloski@theolympian.com
