A jury trial scheduled for July 13 in Clallam County Superior Court has been canceled for a 23-year-old Sequim man accused of child exploitation offenses. During a pretrial hearing on July 2, Judge Brent Basden granted a motion to delay the proceedings, a request filed by the defendant’s newly appointed legal counsel.
The change in representation was formalized in a notice submitted to the court on June 17, which indicated that a Port Angeles attorney had taken over the case for the defendant. Minutes from the July 2 session reveal that the attorney explained she had recently joined the team and requested additional time to prepare, specifically citing the potential need to retain an expert witness. The prosecution did not contest the request for a continuance.
This shift in legal teams followed a status conference on June 5, where the defendant’s previous counsel had asked for a short adjournment to allow the client time to secure private representation. The court had previously held further substantive proceedings in abeyance until new counsel was officially on record.
By signing a waiver of his right to a speedy trial, approved by the judge on July 2, the defendant’s trial timeline has been recalculated. Under the new agreement, the deadline for commencing the trial is now September 21, 2026, with a final outside date of December 20, 2026. This waiver effectively resets the clock on the 60-day and 90-day trial limits established by court rules.
The defendant faces seven counts of first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, each classified as a class B felony, along with one gross misdemeanor count for tampering with physical evidence. Court records indicate that the felony allegations stem from incidents in November and December 2023, while the tampering charge is dated December 2025.
In a document filed on June 29, the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office noted that the defendant has no prior criminal history. The office calculated a standard sentencing range of 77 to 102 months of imprisonment for each felony count, in addition to 36 months of community custody, should the defendant be convicted. The office assigned an offender score of 18 for each felony, a metric that accounts for other current convictions when scoring sex offenses under Washington state guidelines. The tampering count carries a potential sentence of zero to 364 days.
Although the defendant was booked into jail following an arrest in April, he is currently out on bail while awaiting trial. The court has set a future hearing to establish a new trial date. Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Roberson is prosecuting the case, and Judge Elizabeth Stanley remains the assigned judge.