A tentative April 12 trial date has been scheduled for an 18-year-old who pleaded not guilty to rape charges in Lewis County Superior Court.
Damian Christian Wilson, of Centralia, allegedly forced himself sexually on a past romantic partner, when she explicitly told him “no,” three times between January 2017 and December 2018.
According to court documents, Wilson allegedly admitted to the rapes in front of family members and in at least one phone message to the victim. He was charged Dec. 9, 2020, on three counts of third-degree rape, a felony.
Wilson pled not guilty to all charges and claimed his right to a speedy trial, which, in this case, because Wilson is not being detained, means that the court has 90 days from the date the charges were filed — Dec. 9, 2020 — to hold a jury trial. However, because Lewis County Superior Court has suspended all jury trials through at least the end of February due to COVID-19, Wilson’s attorney, Jared Ausserer, agreed with Judge J. Andrew Toynbee to restart the clock on March 1, 2021 — the date that criminal jury trials will tentatively resume.
Toynbee additionally authorized a pretrial sexual assault protection order for the victim.
