Formal charges are filed against fired Whatcom deputy accused of assaulting 2 women

This story has been updated.

A fired Whatcom County Sheriff’s deputy accused of abusing his position as a law enforcement officer to threaten, blackmail and sexually assault at least two women is facing half a dozen felonies.

Austin Michael Case, 23, of Ferndale, was charged July 14 in Whatcom County Superior Court with two counts of unlawful imprisonment, one count of first-degree extortion, first-degree burglary, third-degree rape and indecent liberties by forcible compulsion.

Case pleaded not guilty to all charges at his arraignment in court Friday morning, July 21.

His jury trial has tentatively been scheduled for Oct. 2.

Case was arrested July 12 and was also fired the same day, The Bellingham Herald previously reported.

He was released at 3 p.m. on July 14 from the Whatcom County Jail on $250,000 bond, according to jail and court records.

As part of his release conditions, Case will not be allowed to leave Whatcom County and will not be allowed to possess any firearms or weapons. A July 28 hearing will determine whether Case has complied with turning over all of the weapons in his possession.

Rosemary Kaholokula, Skagit County chief criminal deputy prosecuting attorney, previously said at least 20 firearms — all legally obtained — were taken from Case’s home after his arrest.

A sexual assault protection order was also put in place Friday between Case and the two women who have accused him of assault.

The Herald has reached out to Case’s defense attorney for comment.

Kaholokula declined to comment on the case when reached by The Herald. The Skagit County prosecutor’s office is handling the case due to apparent conflicts of interest.

Background

Case was hired in mid-January by the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office and was still in his 15-month probationary period when he was fired last week.

On June 29, the sheriff’s office was notified about social media conversations that caused concerns regarding Case’s adherence to the expectations for sheriff’s office employees.

An anonymous report accusing Case of sexually harassing women had been filed, according to court documents. It’s unclear whether the report and the social media conversations the sheriff’s office were notified about are the same thing.

An internal affairs investigation was started and Case was placed on paid administrative leave. This was the first time the Sheriff’s Office started having concerns about Case, Whatcom County Undersheriff Doug Chadwick previously told The Herald.

The internal affairs investigation will determine whether Case violated any rules or regulations governing sheriff’s employees and will not be finished until after the criminal investigation into Case is completed, Chadwick said.

Additional details about the internal affairs investigation, including the potential policy or rule violations, will not be released at this time, Chadwick said.

During an interview for the internal affairs investigation with the sheriff’s office, a woman accused Case of rape and assault with sexual motivation, according to court records.

The Sheriff’s Office contacted the Mount Vernon Police Department July 10 and requested that a criminal investigation against Case be opened. Because the scope of the investigation “proved to be very resource consuming for any one agency,” the Skagit and Island County Multiple Agency Response Team, or SMART, was activated.

SMART, which includes a team of investigators, technical experts and command staff throughout Skagit and Island counties, is most commonly activated for police shootings or deadly force incidents. In criminal investigations similar to Case’s, SMART can be activated “when the scope of work exceeds the current capacity of a single agency,” a previous SMART press release stated. Such limitations can include staffing, current caseloads or complexity of an investigation.

As of Wednesday, July 19, the criminal investigation into Case is ongoing, according to SMART spokesperson and Mount Vernon Police Lt. Mike Moore.

Moore said additional individuals have contacted the tip line, but said further details of the investigation “are not being released for the privacy of the victim and integrity of the investigation.”

SMART detectives previously said they believe there are additional victims.

Moore said SMART is actively seeking anyone with information that may assist in the investigation. People are asked to contact the SMART tip line at (360)-661-2319. The line is being monitored by detectives assigned to the investigation, Moore said Wednesday.

Accusations

Two women have come forward and have accused Case of using his position as a law enforcement officer to threaten, extort and sexually assault them, The Herald previously reported.

During a July 11 interview with SMART investigators, the first woman said she and Case met on Tinder and communicated via Snapchat.

The woman said she told Case about her DUI arrest and said she was on probation. Case told the woman he was working on becoming a police officer.

The woman said she went to Case’s home northeast of Ferndale in the fall or winter and said Case forcibly kissed her before she left his home and blocked all contact, according to court records.

The woman later redownloaded the Tinder app, Case messaged her again and she readded him on Snapchat. The pair continued talking and the woman told investigators that Case later began using her DUI against her. While the woman was out at a bar one night, in violation of her probation, Case saw her location on her Snapchat maps.

He messaged the woman and told her she wasn’t supposed to be at a bar, would regret having her location visible and said he could get her in trouble. The woman said she was terrified of going to jail or losing her job and said Case could ruin her life, court documents state.

Case then told the woman “to come to his house and sleep with him and that his house was closer than her house. He said that he knows cops in town and stated, ‘I will have you arrested’ if she didn’t come to his house,” the records state.

The woman repeatedly told Case she didn’t want to have sex with him and the pair argued about it.

Case later climbed on top of the woman, while still arguing with her about having sex, and then raped her, court documents state.

The woman told investigators she went to Case’s house because she felt threatened.

Investigators interviewed a second woman on July 11 who said she met Case on Instagram in March.

Case helped the woman fix a vehicle light over FaceTime and the two decided to go to dinner. The woman told investigators Case walked into her house without being invited once he had arrived to pick her up for dinner, the court documents state.

While Case drove the woman home after dinner, the woman thanked him and said she was going to go shopping. The woman told investigators she had made similar comments during dinner “because she felt weird being around him, [and] to indicate to him that nothing further would happen between them,” the court records state.

The pair pulled up to the woman’s house and as she was unbuckling, Case told her not to move and locked her in the vehicle. He then went around to the passenger side of the car, unlocked the door and let the woman out.

The woman told investigators that she did not feel free to leave Case’s car, records show.

Case told the woman he would walk her to her door, and then came inside and locked the door behind her. The woman told investigators Case picked her up by her armpits, carried her to the kitchen, placed her on the island and stood between her legs so she was unable to leave, according to court records.

The woman said Case forcibly kissed her and began touching her. She said she moved her head back and forth to get him to stop and told him no multiple times.

Case asked the woman whether she was frightened, checked her pulse with his fingers and commented on her heart rate being high.

“Case then lifted his shirt and showed a handgun and asked, ‘Now are you scared?’”

“Yes,” the woman said.

The woman told investigators she got off the counter and told Case to leave. Case asked the woman for two more minutes to talk, and she said she agreed because she was worried he would sexually assault her if she said no, the court records state.

Case then “herded” the woman to the couch and forcibly kissed her for two minutes. After two minutes had passed, the woman grabbed Case’s arm, directed him outside and locked the door, according to court documents.

Case declined to speak with SMART investigators after his arrest last week. He was taken into custody without incident.

This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 3:46 PM.