Third Woman Charged with Sexual Misconduct While Working at Green Hill

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A third former employee of Chehalis’ Green Hill School has been charged in Lewis County Superior Court on suspicion of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of the facility’s residents.

Samantha M. Washington, 28, of Lacey, was charged June 25 in Lewis County with one count of first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, a class C felony. She made her first appearance in the case out of custody on a court summons on Tuesday and was granted $10,000 unsecured bail, allowing her to remain out of custody pending future court hearings.

She also entered a not-guilty plea Tuesday. Washington’s next court hearing is scheduled for Aug. 2.

Three women have now been charged with having sexual relationships with boys at Green Hill while working for the school during the same time frame.

Green Hill School is a medium/maximum security facility for juvenile offenders located in Chehalis and managed by DSHS’ Juvenile Justice and Rehabilitation Administration. The facility provides educational and vocational training to older, male, juvenile offenders.

Erin Stiebritz, 39, was charged with first-degree custodial sexual misconduct in 2016 and pleaded guilty later that year. Stiebritz was a counselor at the school when she allegedly had a sexual relationship with a resident.

In February, a second former counselor at the facility, Katherine Kimbrel, 41, of Centralia, was charged with first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor, first-degree custodial sexual misconduct and communication with a minor for immoral purposes.

She was accused of having a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old inmate starting in 2013 and continuing when the inmate was transferred to another facility

Her case is currently scheduled to go to trial next month.

According to court documents, Washington is accused of having a relationship with an inmate between 2014 and 2017.

The Washington State Patrol has investigated all three cases. The agency first began investigating after learning of an intercepted July 13, 2017 phone call in which Washington and the alleged victim, now 21 years old, discussed a “sexually explicit encounter,” that occurred when the man was a resident and Washington worked at Green Hill, according to court documents.

“When confronted with the information about the conversation, the defendant indicated the conversations about what happened at Green Hill was ‘fantasy,’ ” according to court documents. “When asked about why the conversation did not indicated it was fantasy, the defendant had no explanation.”

Court documents do not indicate in what capacity Washington worked at Green Hill.

In addition to the criminal cases, several lawsuits have been filed against the state and Green Hill administration regarding what the suits term a “culture” of sexual abuse by female staff in recent years.

The suits name Stiebritz, Kimbrel and a third woman as participants and accuse the women of “grooming” the boys with escalating sexual behavior toward them.

In 2009, former Green Hill cook Deanna Witters, 52 at the time, pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree custodial sexual misconduct at the school for a relationship with an inmate.

Witters gave information to investigators about sexual misconduct between inmates and at least five staff members, according to Chronicle reporting at the time.