New charges filed against fired Whatcom Co. deputy accused of multiple sexual assaults

Apr. 4—A fired Whatcom County Sheriff's deputy accused of abusing his position as a law enforcement officer to threaten, blackmail and sexually assault at least two women is facing additional sex crime charges after a third woman came forward accusing him of showing up uninvited to her home and then sexually abusing her in a vehicle in December 2020.

The Skagit County Prosecuting Attorney's Office filed additional felony sex crime charges — indecent liberties (forcible compulsion) and second-degree rape (forcible compulsion) — against 24-year-old Austin Michael Case, of Ferndale, on Wednesday, April 3, in Whatcom County Superior Court. The Skagit prosecutor's office is handling the case due to apparent conflicts of interest.

Case was previously charged July 14 with two counts of unlawful imprisonment and one count each of first-degree extortion, first-degree burglary, third-degree rape (lack of consent) and indecent liberties by forcible compulsion, all felonies. In total, Case is facing eight felonies. The maximum sentence for some of the sex crime charges is life in prison, court documents state.

Case pleaded not guilty to the original charges July 21. A sexual assault protection order is in place between Case and the two women who first came forward. His arraignment on the new felonies is scheduled for April 23, court documents show.

Case was arrested July 12 and was fired the same day. He was still in his probationary period with the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office at the time of his termination, The Bellingham Herald previously reported.

He was released at 3 p.m.July 14 from the Whatcom County Jail on $250,000 bond, according to jail and court records.

Law enforcement seized firearms, concealed pistol licenses and other dangerous weapons from Case following the execution of a search warrant on July 12. Records show at least three AR-15 rifles, one AR-10 rifle, two 12-gauge shotguns, at least six handguns, three additional rifles, one additional shotgun, flashlights, handcuffs, among other items, were confiscated by authorities after his arrest.

Case surrendered eight additional knives to law enforcement July 18. He is not allowed to possess firearms or other dangerous weapons as part of his pre-trial release conditions, court documents state.

Case is allowed to leave Whatcom County and Washington state overnight without getting prior permission from the court, but is not allowed to leave the country. His pre-trial release conditions were modified Aug. 15, following his defense attorney's successful motion to lift the travel restrictions, court documents show.

Skagit County Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Rosemary Kaholokula declined to comment when reached by The Herald Thursday, April 4.

The Herald has reached out to Case's defense attorney for comment.

Internal investigation

Case was hired mid-January 2023 by the Whatcom County Sheriff's Office and was still in his 15-month probationary period when he was fired in July 2023.

Case had begun his field training June 19 in Whatcom County. Ten days later, on June 29, the sheriff's office was notified about social media conversations that caused concerns regarding Case's adherence to the expectations for sheriff's office employees.

An anonymous report accusing Case of sexually harassing women had been filed, court documents state. It's unclear whether the report and the social media conversations that the sheriff's office was notified about are the same thing.

The sheriff's office started an internal administrative investigation June 29 and Case was placed on paid administrative leave, per sheriff's office policy, the same day, former Whatcom County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Doug Chadwick told The Herald.

This was the first time the sheriff's office started having concerns about Case, Chadwick previously told The Herald.

The internal administrative investigation is expected to determine whether Case violated any rules or regulations governing sheriff's office employees and will not be finished until after the criminal investigation into Case is completed, Chadwick previously said.

The Herald has asked whether the internal administrative investigation has since been completed.

Criminal investigation

It was during an interview for the internal administrative investigation with the sheriff's office that a woman accused Case of rape and assault with sexual motivation, court documents state.

The sheriff's office then contacted the Mount Vernon Police Department on July 10 and requested that a criminal investigation into Case be opened. Because the scope of the investigation "proved to be very resource consuming for any one agency", the Skagit and Island County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, was activated, The Herald previously reported.

SMART, which includes a team of investigators, technical experts and command staff throughout Skagit and Island counties, is most commonly activated for police shootings or deadly force incidents. In criminal investigations similar to Case's, SMART can be activated "when the scope of work exceeds the current capacity of a single agency," a previous SMART press release stated. Such limitations can include staffing, current caseloads or complexity of an investigation.

SMART detectives previously stated they believed there were additional potential victims and encouraged anyone with information that may assist the investigation to come forward. A tip line, monitored by detectives, also was established.

The Herald has asked whether the SMART investigation into Case has concluded and how many victims have come forward.

New charges

On July 18, a SMART detective followed up with a woman who responded to the tip line set up following Case's arrest.

The woman told the detective she first started talking with Case in mid-December 2020 after he added her on Snapchat. The woman, who did not have any mutual friends and had never met Case, told the detective she believed she was "quick added" on the social media app.

The woman said she and Case spoke for about four hours and that Case was "very persistent" in wanting to meet up with her. The woman repeatedly said no to meeting with Case, and said she planned to stay home with her family as they had all been drinking, according to court records.

Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2020, a vehicle the woman didn't recognize showed up at her house. Case came to the woman's house uninvited, and the woman told the detective she believed Case used her location on SnapMap to figure out where she lived, the court documents state.

The woman went outside to tell Case to leave, but he insisted on taking her out to eat. The woman's mother then came outside and began speaking with Case, and he was "unofficially invited" into the woman's house.

Once inside, Case spoke with the woman's family. He told them he was trying to become a police officer and wanted to take the woman out on a date.

The woman "said her family was inebriated and did not appear to understand that she was uncomfortable and didn't want to go on a date with Case," but encouraged her to go, court documents state.

The woman told the detective she believes her family "liked and trusted Case" because he said he was becoming a police officer in Bellingham. The woman said Case then grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the door and out to his vehicle.

The woman told the detective Case drove to the empty parking lot of Squalicum High School in Bellingham and that they never went to a restaurant to get food. The woman said once parked, Case immediately started making sexual advances and started rubbing her legs, arms and body, court documents state.

Case then forcefully kissed the woman, despite the woman saying no and telling Case she didn't like it. He then continued to try to get the woman to come back to his house, the court records state.

The woman told Case her family wanted her to come home, which "appeared to irritate or anger Case," court documents state.

The woman told the detective she was "closed down", felt stuck and remained silent.

Case then assaulted the woman, court documents state.

The woman told the detective that after Case assaulted her, he pushed her back into her seat and dropped her off at her house. The woman said she ran into her house crying.

The woman told the detective she was afraid to report the assault to law enforcement because she knew Case was attempting to become a law enforcement officer and had said he "had connections," according to court records.

The woman later recognized Case on a Facebook page she was part of and made a comment about "his dangerous and forceful behavior to warn other women about him," the records show.

The woman told the detective that Case continued to contact her after the assault. She said Case asked to see her again, but she didn't respond. The woman told the detective Case attempted to contact her through multiple Snapchat accounts before trying to contact her on Instagram through what looked like multiple fake accounts.

The woman told the detective she doesn't know how Case found her Instagram, as she doesn't post her information publicly, and said she blocked the accounts. When she went to look at her blocked accounts, the woman said the accounts were no longer available, suggesting the accounts may have been deleted, according to court records.

Prior to this woman coming forward, two other women previously came forward and accused Case of using his position as a law enforcement officer to threaten, extort and sexually assault them, The Herald previously reported.

Resources

— Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org

Brigid Collins Family Support Center professionals are on-call between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday, to answer questions about children, families, abuse prevention or treatment at (360) 734-4616.

— Child Protective Services: Washington state hotline for reporting child abuse and neglect, 866-829-2153.

— Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.

— Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.

— Tl'ils Ta'á'altha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/

— Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.

— WWU Consultation and Sexual Assault Support Survivor Advocacy Services: 360-650-3700 or wp.wwu.edu/sexualviolence/.

If you or a child is in immediate danger, call 911 and make a report to law enforcement.

To report child abuse or neglect call 1-866-END HARM.

This story was originally published April 4, 2024, 2:20 PM.

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