Tacoma principal charged in woman's rape
By Associated Press
The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA)
Feb 14, 2007
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- A middle school principal has been accused in the rape of a woman at an after-hours party three years ago.
Harold Wright Jr., 35, of Puyallup, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Pierce County Superior Court on a charge of second-degree rape and indecent liberties.
He was placed on administrative leave from Baker Middle School last week, Tacoma schools spokeswoman Leanna Albrecht said.
According to charging papers, a woman accused Wright and two other men of raping her at an after-hours party on Jan. 31, 2004. She was 19 at the time.
Jerry McClurkin Jr., and Ritchie Deshun Carter, are awaiting trial March 21 on charges of second-degree rape.
The woman said she and two friends were at a bar where Wright, his brother and two other men invited them to McClurkin's house, court papers stated.
She later told investigators that at least two of the men took her into a bathroom and took turns having sex with her, but it was too dark for her to identify them, charging papers said.
The woman went to a hospital for a sexual assault examination, and state crime lab reports matched DNA evidence with samples from Carter and Wright, court papers said.
Prosecutors said the delay in charges was because it took the backlogged Washington State Patrol Crime Lab time to process the evidence.
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Information from: The News Tribune, http://www.thenewstribune.com
http://www.columbian.com/news/state/APStories/AP02142007news104403.cfm
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