Man acquitted twice for child sex crimes is convicted in molestation of girl

EVERETT — A Port Townsend man twice acquitted of child sex crimes was convicted Wednesday of molesting a 3-year-old girl during a Thanksgiving dinner in 2013 in Stanwood.

A Snohomish County jury needed just 90 minutes to reach a guilty verdict after a week-long trial that included testimony from the victim, now 6.

Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Laura Twitchell retried the case following a mistrial in November. Those jurors couldn’t reach a verdict after a couple of days of deliberations.

Joshua David Larson, 41, was led off in handcuffs Wednesday afternoon. He faces up to 5?1/2 years in prison when he’s sentenced in March. Once he serves his time, Larson will have to convince the state’s Indeterminate Sentence Review Board that he is fit to be released.

He will be required to register as a sex offender.

Larson denied touching the girl’s genitals. He testified that his hand brushed her clothed buttocks as he lifted her to take a toy away. Larson told detectives the girl may have made up the story because that’s what her parents wanted to hear.

Larson plans to appeal his conviction, his lawyer said.

Over the years four other girls have accused Larson of molesting them. He’s been acquitted twice at trials.

Larson remains charged in Jefferson County with molesting a 7-year-old girl in 2013. He is accused of sexually assaulting the girl while she visited his then-5-year-old son at the family’s Port Townsend home.

That girl and two others, who accused Larson of sexually abusing them, were allowed to testify in the Snohomish County trial.

Superior Court Judge Anita Farris permitted their testimony for limited purposes, specifically to refute the defendant’s claims that the touching was accidental. Twitchell pressed to get the testimony in front of jurors to prove that Larson used a common plan in each incident and that the touching was for his sexual gratification.

Jurors were told that Larson was acquitted in a case involving one of the girls.

The admissability of the other girls’ testimony is expected to be at the heart of Larson’s appeal.

The defendant was 24 when he was charged with child molestation after a 5-year-old girl reported that he abused her. A King County jury acquitted him at the 1998 trial.

During the investigation into that case, Bothell police heard from another young woman who reported that Larson abused her in 1994, when she was 8. He wasn’t charged in connection with those allegations.

In March, a Clallam County jury concluded that Larson wasn’t guilty of molesting a 9-year-old girl in 2014 at a public pool in Sequim. The girl reported that Larson touched her while she was playing in the pool.

That allegation came just two months after Larson was arrested for the Snohomish County incident. He’d been released from the Everett jail without having to post bail.

Diana Hefley: 425-339-3463; hefley@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dianahefley.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.