Washington Court of Appeals Denies State’s Action to Overturn Jury Verdict In Sexual Assault Case, According to Dearie Law Group

SEATTLE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Attorneys for a child subjected to years of sexual abuse today announced that the Washington State Court of Appeals unanimously rejected the State of Washington’s effort to overturn a Snohomish County jury’s finding that the State failed to protect the child.

The ruling involved a 2019 lawsuit filed by a minor, referred to as A.K., in Snohomish County Superior Court. The suit claimed that a then-Monroe police sergeant began sexually abusing the then-13-year-old A.K. after he met her as part of the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) program and later employed her to babysit his two children.

The lawsuit asserted that the State had ample, credible evidence to conclude that the abuse was happening, but failed to take steps to protect the child. After a two-week trial, the jury agreed with the victim and awarded her $3 million for the years of sexual abuse she suffered as a result of the State’s inaction.

“The State asked the Court of Appeals to second-guess a jury that sat through weeks of testimony and weighed the evidence,” said Raymond Dearie of Dearie Law Group, one of A.K.’s attorneys. “The Court rejected that request, reaffirming that juries matter and that the State bears responsibility when it fails to protect children in its care.”

According to Dearie, the evidence included a recording of a Child Protective Services investigator stating that she was “100% certain” that former police sergeant Carlos Martinez was sexually abusing A.K. Still, the investigator did not appropriately report her conclusion, which was mandated by law.

Dearie noted that the trial judge sanctioned and reprimanded the State and its attorneys for trying to hide the recorded statement.

The jury found that the State’s failure to take action allowed Martinez to continue his abuse for an additional seven years, Dearie stated.

“When we presented this evidence to the jury, they recognized the harm the State inflicted on A.K. through its inaction and made the right call to hold the State accountable,” Dearie said. “We believed the jury got it exactly right, which made the State’s decision to appeal all the more surprising.”

Dearie said the prolonged effort required to defend the jury’s verdict on appeal delayed A.K.’s ability to close a painful chapter in her life.

“When the jury foreperson read the verdict, we believed we could finally tell A.K. that the years of stress and the pain of revisiting the abuse were over,” Dearie added. “Instead, we had to explain that the State rejected a verdict the jury reached after careful consideration. That was a difficult conversation.”

“This was a horrible chapter of my life, and its impact did not end when the abuse stopped,” A.K. said, now 37-years old. “The years of litigation were exhausting, but Ray Dearie and his firm stood with me the entire way. They believed me, they fought for me, and they refused to give up.”

The State argued on appeal that A.K. failed to prove causation and that the trial court should never have allowed the jury to decide the case. The Court of Appeals rejected those arguments, holding that the jury reasonably concluded that had a report been made when required, law enforcement would have acted, and the abuse likely would have stopped years earlier.

“This case was not about a close call or hindsight judgment,” said Drew Lombardi of Dearie Law Group and part of A.K.’s legal team. “The evidence showed a clear failure to act, followed by an effort to avoid accountability at every turn, including after a jury spoke. The Court of Appeals shut that down.”

“The State tried to erase a jury’s verdict instead of accepting responsibility,” Lombardi said. “This decision confirms that the system works when courts respect the role of juries and the voices of survivors.”

To learn more about Dearie Law Group, visit www.dearielawgroup.com.

Court of Appeals Division 1 – Entered February 2, 2026 | No. 86100-0-1

Contacts

Mark Firmani – Juno Strategies | [e-mail]