Details continue to emerge following the arrest on child rape charges of Jeffrey S. Archer, 43, the Ilwaco fire chief, who has been placed on administrative leave. He appeared for a preliminary hearing in Pacific County Superior Court on Monday, Jan. 12, and entered a plea of not guilty at his Jan. 15 arraignment.

He is represented by David Mistachkin, a former judge with the Grays Harbor Superior Court, who now works with Ingram, Zelasko & Goodwin, an Aberdeen law firm.

The Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office says they will be filing additional charges later this month, which may include alleged offenses against additional victims.

Extensive investigation

Archer was arrested by the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office during an operation carried out throughout the day on Jan. 9. He was booked into the Pacific County Jail at 11:50 p.m. on Jan. 9.

“This investigation has been active since September, involving exhaustive efforts from the Sheriff’s Office,” PCSO Chief Civil Deputy Hollie Billeci said. “Complex cases often require significant time to process search warrants through external providers; during these intervals, our team continues to manage other pending investigations.

“Over the past several months, however, this case has become a primary focus for our detective division. While an arrest has been made, our work remains intensive as we transition into the litigation phase. Despite staffing challenges that occasionally require detectives to pivot to immediate calls for service, we remain committed to seeing this case through to its conclusion,” Billeci added.

The sheriff’s office was assisted in the investigation by the Long Beach Police Department, an Electronic Storage Detection Dog Team from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office in Oregon, Washington Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the U.S. Secret Service.

Initial charges Archer is currently facing 37 charges, according to court documents, which includes ten counts of first-degree rape of a child, 21 counts of first-degree child molestation, four counts of second-degree child molestation, one count of dealing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and one count of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

The alleged offenses date as far back as June 2013, with the most recent offense occurring in December 2019.

“Both victims disclosed that while they were being babysat by [Archer] for [their mother], they were molested and/or raped by [Archer] at his residence located [on the 29000 block of] L Lane [in] Ocean Park in Pacific County, WA,” PCSO Det. Kevin Acdal said in court documents.

There are three known victims, according to court records, including relatives who were approximately between the ages of 2-14 years old at the time of the sexual assaults.

“[One victim] further disclosed being provided compensation and/or marijuana and alcohol by [Archer] for allowing him to perform sexual acts [on him]…,” Acdal said.

“Due to the frequency of [Archer] molesting [him], [an alleged victim] had difficulties recalling the total amount of times it occurred,” he added.

One of the alleged victims told Acdal that there may be two additional victims, one of which they had direct knowledge about being sexually assaulted.

“[An alleged victim] stated that around the beginning of August of 2019, every weekend he was sexually assaulted by [Archer],” Acdal said.

“Based on the information [the alleged victim] provided, it was outlined to me that there was a five-month period in 2019 that [Archer] was continually sexually abusing [the alleged victim],” he added.

Preliminary hearing

During Archer’s preliminary appearance on Monday, Jan. 12, Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Jennifer Zorn informed the court there may be more victims.

“We are asking for bail to be set at $1 million,” Zorn said. “We do believe that he is a flight risk. He does not have any criminal history, but the nature of these charges are quite serious. There are three named victims right now. Before I came up here today, we think that is going to increase to eight since this information has come out.”

Zorn also asked for orders to protect the victims from any contact from Archer and for him to surrender his passport.

Archer was represented at the hearing by attorney Edward Penoyar, who is contracted by the county to only represent defendants at their preliminary hearings. He asked for leeway in the bail amount against Archer, and did not object to him surrendering his passport.

“We would ask for a lower bail in the amount of $100,000,” Penoyar said. “The defendant is the fire chief for Ilwaco. He has been in the area for a very long time. He owns a home here. Given the lack of criminal history, we do not believe a $1 million [bail] would be warranted.”

The decision rested with Judge Donald J. Richter.

“The nature of the charges…the number of victims…the length of alleged conduct all makes this a very serious allegation,” Richter said. “Of course, Mr. Archer is presumed innocent of any allegation at this time. The court is allowed to review that information as it makes its determination as to pretrial release. The sentence, and in fact plea, can be given up to life in prison.”

“Mr. Archer is a long-time resident of this area and has ties to the community. So that, at this point, is relevant history. I will set bail at $500,000 and I believe that weighs the nature of the charges, the serious nature of protecting community members as well as the threat of non-appearance,” Richter added. Among the pretrial stipulations, Richter ordered protection orders for all of the alleged victims to prevent any contact from Archer.

Zorn declined to comment because of it being an ongoing case.

“The Pacific County Sheriff’s Office is deeply saddened that our community is facing this terrible situation,” Billeci said. “Our hearts go out to the victims who have had to bear the weight of this in their lives, and we hope that bringing Mr. Archer to justice is the first step to their healing process.

“We are proud of the work our team has put into this case, and we are committed to continuing to serve the People as we move forward on all cases,” Billeci added.