Eastern Washington judge admits to sex abuse as trial poised to begin

(The Center Square) – Scott Gallina, former Superior Court Judge for Asotin, Garfield, and Columbia counties, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting two employees on the day his trial was set to begin.

Gallina, 58, admitted Monday in Asotin Superior Court to committing two counts of assault with sexual motivation, one in the third-degree, and the other in the fourth-degree. The first count is a Class C felony and the second a gross misdemeanor.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the victims in the case supported the plea deal.

“This case represents a grotesque abuse of power by a public official,” Ferguson said in a statement to the media. “It also represents a betrayal of trust, not only to Scott Gallina’s victims, but to the public he was supposed to serve. His victims’ remarkable courage made this outcome possible. I am grateful for their support of this resolution, which will spare them of having to recount their assaults at trial. We will argue for the maximum penalty allowed under his guilty plea.”

Gallina had been set to appear before a jury April 4 on two more counts of assault with sexual motivation, along with second-degree rape and indecent liberties. If convicted on all charges, he was facing more than two decades in prison and a maximum life sentence.

According to court records, the charges Gallina did not plead guilty to will be dropped with prejudice, which means they cannot be filed against him again.

Charging documents show that Gallina was arrested in April of 2019 at the Asotin County Courthouse on suspicion of sexual assault involving two female employees.

Some of the alleged incidents occurred as far back as 2014, when Gallina was first appointed to serve as a judge for the three counties.

His attorney, Carl Oreskovich of Spokane, told reporters that Gallina had wanted to go to trial and clear his name, but it was deemed too risky.

“I don’t know how anyone takes a risk like that with those kinds of consequences,” Oreskovich said. “It was a hard decision to make. In my mind, he made an appropriate decision. Although he denies that conduct, this allows him to enter pleas to some simple assaults, and after he gets out, he will be able to get on with his life.”

Joining Oreskovich in representing Gallina was attorney Andrew Wagley of Spokane.

Gallina was arrested by the Washington State Patrol in April 2019 after the two victims reported several instances of sexual assault. Court records show that multiple other women in the courthouse also reported conduct to investigators ranging from inappropriate sexual comments to unsolicited and non-consensual shoulder rubs.

Judge Michael Price of Spokane was brought in to oversee the Gallina case. On Monday, he told hundreds of people who had been summoned to the Asotin County Fire Station for jury selection that the case had been resolved. The trial was expected to take several weeks.

Price has set a hearing date of June 16 to determine Gallina’s sentence.

Senior Counsel Melanie Tratnik from the Washington Attorney Generals Office has recommended the maximum sentence of 27 months.

Under the plea agreement, Gallina cannot be sentenced to less than 13 months. He will remain out of custody on a $50,000 bond until he’s sentenced.

The plea agreement requires Gallina to register as a sex offender for 10 years after serving time in prison. He also faces 36 months of community custody upon his release and is barred from contacting the victims for at least two years.

The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case at the request of the Asotin County prosecutor. Tratnik and Assistant Attorney General Sean Waite handled the case for Ferguson’s office.

Last September, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) reported that an agreement had been reached with Asotin County to pay a $100,000 settlement to one of Gallina’s victims.

According to a news release from the DOJ, the agreement also required the county to establish protocols for the investigation of harassment claims and maintain a written policy on sex discrimination and sexual harassment. Asotin officials also have to provide mandatory training to employees about federal statutes that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion.

The clerk filed a discrimination charge against the county with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission’s Seattle field office investigated, found the charge to be credible and referred it to DOJ after mediation failed, according to the news release.

The department filed a complaint alleging the county violated the clerk’s civil rights because it “negligently failed to take prompt and adequate action to stop the harassment.”

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