A former Seattle Public Schools volunteer coach charged with raping a Garfield High School student for years is being falsely accused, his lawyers said in King County Superior Court on Monday, while prosecutors described the devastating effect he had on the student’s life.
A jury heard opening statements Monday in the trial of Walter Jones, 48, who is charged with two counts of rape of a child in the second degree and two counts of rape of a child in the third degree.
If Jones is convicted as charged, he faces the potential of 23 years in prison on an indeterminate sentence that ultimately would be decided by the sentencing judge and the Department of Corrections, according to the director of communications at the King County prosecuting attorney’s office…