Former Olympia bus driver headed to trial on child rape, molestation charges

A former Olympia school bus driver is scheduled to stand trial Monday for the alleged molestation of a former Olympia School District student.

Jimmy W. Wall, 51, was charged in 2016 with four counts of first-degree child rape and two counts of first-degree child molestation. He is accused of sexually assaulting a then-10-year-old male Madison Elementary student during and after the 2007-2008 school year.

In September of this year, Gary Schafer was charged jointly in the case. Schafer, 39, already is serving 14-1/2 years to life after pleading guilty to child molestation and child pornography charges.

Schafer faces four counts of first-degree child rape. He also is a former Olympia school bus driver, and Wall’s former roommate. The new allegations against Schafer involve the same alleged victim as in Wall’s case.

According to court documents, the victim reported that he became close to Wall during the school year, and Wall invited him to go geocaching at Lions Park and LBA Park. Wall allegedly picked up the child in a white van on weekends and on weekdays during the summer. The two would go to secluded woods where Wall would allegedly sexually assault the boy. The boy said Wall raped him on more than 10 occasions.

The boy also reported that Wall sexually assaulted him during an after-school care program at Madison, according to court documents.

Wall’s case has been continued several times because of the alleged victim’s unavailability for trial — he is an active-duty soldier in the Army — in addition to attorney changes and witness unavailability.

Attorney Wayne Fricke, who represents Wall, filed a motion on Oct. 18 to dismiss the charges against his client. He alleged that the state filed charges against Schafer in an attempt to lessen his credibility as a witness in Wall’s case.

“It is clear that the prosecutor has no interest in doing justice, but has every intention of seeking a conviction by engaging in actions to prevent an acquittal in the case,” the motion reads.

He also argued that various continuances — those imposed after Jan. 23, 2017 — violated Wall’s right to a speedy trial. Fricke alleged that various continuances were due to the alleged victim “voluntarily absenting himself from the jurisdiction and deliberately refusing to make himself available.”

Deputy Prosecutor Brandi Archer addressed both allegations in a response filed Oct. 27. She wrote that she decided to file the new charges against Schafer after she took over the case and learned of the allegations against him.

She also argued that Wall agreed to several continuances after Jan. 23.

Judge Mary Sue Wilson denied the motion to dismiss the charges at an Oct. 25 hearing.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "Former Olympia bus driver headed to trial on child rape, molestation charges."