While part of a task force investigating sex crimes against children, a Pasco police officer is charged with raping and sexually assaulting his stepdaughter over a period of a half-dozen years.

According to court documents, Anthony James Haworth, 38, who is also a former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy, sexually assaulted the girl on multiple occasions, including while she was sleeping, from the ages of 14 to 19 (2008-2013) at a home in the 5800 block of Taft Drive in Pasco.

The victim said the touching happened while Haworth was off-duty, remembering at around 15 years old a hole in a wall that would allow someone to watch her. She covered it up, but said Haworth told her to uncover the hole so he'd remember to fix it. She later figured out the hole was a way to see into her bedroom from the attic. That hole was discovered while a search warrant was served at Haworth's Pasco home.

While 17, the victim says she drank alcohol with Haworth and became intoxicated accusing him in court documents of taking advantage of her drunken state to perform sexual acts both when she was unconscious and when she was awake.

There was also a report that Haworth had tried to kiss and touch a childhood friend of the victim. Detectives also searched to find messages between the victim's friend and the victim regarding Haworth trying to kiss the friend.

Haworth has also refused to take a polygraph test in this case.

Haworth's electronics were seized and searched revealing several nude photographs of the teen taken when she was about 18. She said she had taken them to send to a boyfriend but had not sent them to Haworth, and did not know Haworth had them, saying she had deleted them.

Haworth said he had not seen the photographs that were found on his iTunes backup account and he claimed he did not know how they got onto his phone, according to court documents.

Haworth denies the alleged sex crimes, claiming they are a result of a divorce between him and the victim's mother. He was apparently ready to sell the family home for profit which led to a dispute.

Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant appointed Walla Walla County Prosecutor James Nagle to handle the case to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest as obviously Sant works closely with the Pasco PD on a daily basis.

The case was prepared by a Walla Walla police detective.

Haworth remains on administrative leave and is scheduled to appear in Franklin County Superior Court June 6th to enter a plea facing charges of rape, indecent liberties, first-degree incest and voyeurism.

Sources for this story can be found here, here, here, here and here.

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