Jury selection began on Jan. 27 for the trial of a 38-year-old Port Townsend man charged with two counts of rape of a child and one count of child molestation.
Nathaniel Caylor pleaded not guilty to all three charges last March, after the alleged victim, a 9-year-old girl, told police that he assaulted her three times between January 2018 and January 2019, according to court documents.
Caylor was held in the Jefferson County Jail, but was able to post a $100,000 bail.
In 2015, Caylor received what is believed to be the largest settlement from the Seattle Police Department in history after he was shot in the jaw by police officer Eugene Schubeck in 2009. The Seattle Times reported that Caylor received $1.9 million in the settlement, and that he underwent 17 jaw surgeries after the incident. His son was 20 months old at the time, and present during the shooting.
Caylor had been acting as a babysitter for women with children who had no access to childcare, said prosecutor Julian St. Marie. The victim was friends with his 10-year-old son, according to court documents.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Port Townsend Police Department, which interviewed the juvenile victim and spoke with other possible victims as well.
Superior Court Judge Keith Harper will preside over the case. St. Marie will present the state’s case later in the week, followed by the defense, led by Jefferson Associated Counsel attorney Scott Charlton.
At Caylor’s arraignment last March, Charlton argued there were “significant issues regarding her [the victim’s] credibility.”
All three of the charges are Class A felonies, which according to state law, are punishable by prison sentences that can include life, as well as fines of up to $50,000.
