A King County jury on Tuesday, June 2, found Walter Jones, 48, not guilty of two counts of second-degree rape of a child and two counts of third-degree rape of a child, clearing the former Garfield High School volunteer coach after years of allegations and a previous mistrial.
Jones had been accused of repeatedly raping a former Garfield student when she was between 13 and 15. After a two-week trial, jurors deliberated for roughly two and a half days before returning the not-guilty verdict, ending the criminal case that had trailed the former coach since charges were first filed.
Trial and verdict
Prosecutors told jurors that the sexual assaults began when the student was 13 and that she disclosed the alleged abuse to Seattle police in 2021, according to The Seattle Times. The outlet reported that the trial featured phone records, other documentary evidence and witness testimony, all laid out for the jury over two weeks.
The same reporting notes that jurors spent about two and a half days weighing the case before acquitting Jones on all four counts. Defense attorneys highlighted what they said were inconsistencies in the accuser’s statements and emphasized that Jones had maintained his innocence from the outset of the criminal case.
Mistrial and court history
This was not Jones’s first time before a King County jury. A prior trial ended in a hung jury in December 2025, which led prosecutors to seek a retrial in the spring, The Spokesman-Review reported. That earlier proceeding was marked by juror dismissals and interruptions that slowed the case and ultimately produced the mistrial.
By the time the retrial began, jurors were presented with live testimony and a paper trail that stretched across several years of allegations and investigations, all against the backdrop of the prior deadlocked jury.
Allegations and school oversight
The criminal charges against Jones surfaced alongside accusations involving a second coach and broader criticism of the district’s oversight of athletics programs, according to reporting by KUOW. That coverage noted that Jones had previously been forced to resign from another school and raised questions about how he later ended up volunteering at Garfield.
Advocates and journalists told KUOW that the case highlighted gaps in Washington’s oversight of non-certified coaches and school volunteers, especially in high-contact roles around teenagers.
Settlement and accountability
Separately from the criminal case, the former student sued Seattle Public Schools, alleging the district was negligent in allowing Jones to volunteer and in failing to report and prevent abuse. The district agreed to pay a record $16 million to settle the lawsuit, The Seattle Times reported.
The complaint stated that the student had an emotional disability and an individualized education plan, and it alleged that Jones had previously been marked “do not rehire” by the district. The size of the settlement underscored the district’s civil exposure and fueled renewed calls from advocates for tighter protections in school athletics and volunteer programs.
Legal implications
With the acquittal, Jones cannot be convicted on these particular charges, and double-jeopardy protections generally prohibit the state from retrying him for the same alleged offenses. Civil cases, however, operate under a lower burden of proof and move on a separate track, which is why criminal acquittals and civil outcomes often diverge.
Marvin Hall, a second coach named in the student’s lawsuit who later pleaded guilty to sexual misconduct with a minor, had already faced his own criminal case and was released from jail in December, reporting by KUOW shows.
Jones’s defense attorneys say he will now try to rebuild his life outside the courtroom. Advocates for survivors, meanwhile, argue that the case has laid bare serious flaws in how schools screen volunteers and safeguard students. The verdict may close the criminal file on Jones in King County Superior Court, but the broader fight over school safety and accountability in Seattle Public Schools is not going anywhere.
