Pasco officer’s sexual assault case delayed

The arraignment for a Pasco police officer accused of sexually assaulting a girl over a five-year period has been delayed one week.

Anthony J. Haworth, 38, made his first appearance Tuesday in Franklin County Superior Court.

He was scheduled to enter a plea to four felony sex crimes, including third-degree rape, indecent liberties and voyeurism.

However, attorney Etoy Alford Jr. of Yakima said while he was standing up for Haworth, he had not yet reached an agreement to represent him and needed more time.

Michelle L. Morales, a Walla Walla County deputy prosecutor, said she didn’t want to set dates in the case until a defense attorney was hired.

The investigation was handled by the Walla Walla Police Department, and now is being prosecuted by that county, because of potential conflicts of interest with Haworth’s own department and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office.

The criminal allegations stem from off-duty incidents.

Haworth, who previously worked as a detective in the Pasco department, is on administrative leave and is out of jail on his own recognizance.

Eighteen people, including a uniformed Pasco officer, were in court with Haworth on Tuesday.

Court documents state that Haworth sexually assaulted the teen girl several times between 2008 and 2013.

The girl told Walla Walla Detective Marcus Goodwater that she noticed a hole in a wall that would allow someone to watch her. She covered it up, but said Haworth told her to uncover the hole, documents said.

The girl also said she drank alcohol with Haworth, who allegedly took advantage of her intoxicated state. She said she was both unconscious and awake when he sexually assaulted her, court documents said.

Investigators found several nude photographs of the teen on Haworth’s electronic devices.

The girl said she had taken them for a boyfriend, but later deleted them and didn’t know how they came to be in Haworth’s possession, documents said. Haworth said he had never seen the photographs and doesn’t know how they got on his devices.

Haworth has denied the allegations, saying they were motivated by his divorce and putting his house up for sale.

His former wife, Christina R. Haworth, 44, was charged last year with two counts of felony harassment for threatening to kill Haworth and his girlfriend, who also works for the police department.

She added that she planned to use the loaded handgun she keeps in her bedroom, court documents show.

Haworth pleaded guilty last month in Franklin County Superior Court to one gross misdemeanor count of harassment, claiming she “was upset after having been attacked.” She was sentenced to 15 days in jail with 349 days suspended.

This story was originally published June 6, 2017 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Pasco officer’s sexual assault case delayed."