Lead detective who handled Bellingham school administrators case being investigated

This is a developing story and will be updated.

The lead Bellingham Police Department detective investigating three school administrators for their alleged failures to report a student’s sexual assaults is now himself the subject of investigations, according to public records.

The situation involving the detective has also led to questions about whether the anticipated jury trials for the three school district administrators will still begin in late July.

Bellingham Police Detective Adam (Bo) S. McGinty, with the special victims unit, is currently the subject of a departmental internal affairs investigation. He is also the subject of a criminal investigation with the Mount Vernon Police Department, according to the public records obtained by The Bellingham Herald.

As of July 12, neither investigation had concluded and no determinations had been made, according to the records and Bellingham and Mount Vernon police.

The Bellingham Police Department started its internal affairs investigation of McGinty on May 18, according to Bellingham police Deputy Chief Don Almer.

Almer declined to discuss the investigation, saying it is “an active and ongoing administrative investigation that has not yet been completed,” but did say that the allegations “do not involve domestic violence, crimes of violence, acts of a sexual nature, any public safety issues, or drugs/alcohol.”

McGinty was placed on paid administrative leave on June 7 in accordance with agency policy, Almer said in an email to The Herald.

The Mount Vernon Police Department also is conducting a criminal investigation into the allegations at the Bellingham Police Department’s request, Almer said.

“We made this request in order to have an independent, transparent and credible process,” he said.

The Mount Vernon Police Department began its investigation into McGinty on June 15, according to Mount Vernon police Lt. Mike Moore.

Moore confirmed Mount Vernon police began its criminal investigation into McGinty at the request of Bellingham Police after it “appeared a policy violation may result in criminal implications.”

When asked what type of criminal conduct Mount Vernon police is investigating, Moore said, “This is an ongoing investigation and too early to draw conclusions.”

“If it’s determined a crime has been committed and probable cause exists, the case will be sent to the prosecutor’s office for charging,” Moore said, adding that Bellingham police “has been very accommodating during the investigation.”

The Herald has reached out to the Whatcom County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for more information.

Efforts to reach McGinty were unsuccessful.

McGinty was previously the lead detective investigating the alleged failure of three Bellingham Public Schools administrators to report a high school student’s sexual assaults. Public records obtained by The Herald show McGinty spent more than a year working on the cases.

He has since been removed from handling the cases.

McGinty was hired by Bellingham police on March 1, 2015, according to public records and Almer. He was promoted to detective in January 2018 and was previously Bellingham Public Schools’ district resource officer.

Prior to working for Bellingham police, McGinty worked for the Hattiesburg Police Department in Mississippi from July 2007 to November 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.

His salary with Bellingham police in 2021 was $113,575, according to the most recent available information.

“Our agency handles these situations with professionalism and in accordance with law, policy and ethics. The independent criminal investigation was necessary to ensure the integrity and objectivity of that investigation, and transparency is critical to ensure that a credible process in accordance with best practices and laws occurs,” Almer said in his email.

“This being said, administrative investigations must follow appropriate due process, and this situation is no different so not all the information is available at this time.”

Brady list

At a Whatcom County District Court hearing Tuesday afternoon, July 11, for the three school district administrators, Whatcom County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Levi Uhrig requested that the upcoming trial date of July 31 be continued to a later date. Uhrig said the additional attorney handling the case with him has medical appointments over the next several weeks and notified the pro-tem court commissioner that a new detective had recently taken over the case.

Because of his co-counsel’s medical appointments and because the new detective “will need some time to get caught up to speed” with the case, Uhrig requested the commissioner extend the trial date.

Criminal defense attorney Bob Butler then clarified for the commissioner in open court that the reason the prosecution was likely seeking a new trial date was because McGinty, the former lead detective, is likely soon to be placed on the “Brady” list.

The “Brady” list, maintained by the county prosecutor’s office, is a list of law enforcement officers whose credibility has been called into question. The officers on the list have most commonly been found to have been dishonest, lied while in an official capacity, or have been accused or found guilty of past misconduct.

Prosecutors are legally required to turn the list over to defense attorneys if an officer on the “Brady” list is involved or worked on the case. This information can then be used to impeach the officer as a witness if they are called to testify in court.

On June 29, the county prosecutor’s office sent a letter to Whatcom County defense attorneys notifying them that McGinty was currently the subject of both a departmental internal affairs investigation and a criminal investigation.

The letter said both of the investigations were pending at the time and that no conclusions had been reached, according to the public records obtained by The Herald.

The letter also said it was intended to be a “preliminary notice” that the prosecutor’s office was conducting an investigation to determine whether McGinty should be placed on the “Brady” list.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Butler said it wasn’t a surprise that McGinty was the subject of an internal affairs investigation.

“My last trial with Mr. McGinty, there was substantial issues raised about his credibility out of Mississippi, so at this point, I think it’s in our interest to push the case forward rather than allow the state to continue to let this languish,” Butler said.

All three of the defense attorneys representing the school administrators said they would be ready to head to trial on July 31. They requested the commissioner not reschedule the trial date.

The commissioner did not issue a ruling on whether to grant the prosecution’s request to reschedule the trial date. Because the commissioner at Tuesday’s hearing was temporarily filling in for the normal commissioner hearing the school administrators’ cases, he said he would rather have the regular commissioner make that decision.

A hearing on the issue has been scheduled for Tuesday, July 18.

Background

In February 2022, McGinty began investigating a former Squalicum High School female student’s disclosures that a male student had repeatedly sexually assaulted her, according to the public records obtained by The Herald and previous reporting.

Roughly a month later, McGinty also began investigating the three Bellingham Public Schools administrators the female student had reported the assaults to, and their alleged failures to notify law enforcement or the state Department of Children and Family Services, the records show.

In early December, the administrators were charged with failing to report the female student’s sexual assaults, which were brought to their attention nearly a year prior, The Herald previously reported.

The administrators — Meghan V. Dunham, Jeremy Gilbert Louzao and Maude Chimere Hackney — were each criminally cited Dec. 7 in Whatcom County District Court with one count of failure to report, which is a gross misdemeanor.

They have entered not guilty pleas. Gross misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

The school district is providing legal defense for the three administrators, which state law mandates for public employers required to report abuse.

All three administrators are mandatory reporters and required by state law to report any suspected abuse or neglect of a child to law enforcement or the Washington State Department of Children, Youth & Families.

None of the three reported the female student’s sexual assaults, The Herald previously reported.

At the time the criminal citations were issued, Louzao and Dunham were serving as assistant principals at Squalicum High School, while Hackney was an assistant principal at Bellingham High School.

All three were reassigned in early January to the school district’s Department of Teaching and Learning. They were also included among the list of 60 administrative staff members the district recommended to the school board for employment for the 2023-24 school year.

The school board approved that list at its May 18 meeting, The Herald previously reported.

The former Squalicum High School student who has accused the district of mishandling her sexual assault reports filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Dec. 7 against Bellingham Public Schools. The student, who has since withdrawn from the high school and is now attending another school, accused the district in her lawsuit of violating her federal Title IX rights, failing its duty to protect and care for her and neglecting its duties to report the sexual assaults to law enforcement.

She previously sought $1 million in damages from the district before filing the federal lawsuit.

In its January response to the lawsuit, Bellingham Public Schools denied it mishandled the student’s sexual assault reports. The district said it took reasonable steps to stop the reported harassment, that the assault allegations contained in the student’s lawsuit were not reported to the administrators and that the conduct that was reported to them was not considered abuse or neglect under state law.

The federal lawsuit and all three of the administrators’ criminal cases are currently pending, county and federal court records show.

The male student accused of sexually assaulting the female student pleaded guilty to amended charges of two counts of fourth-degree assault with sexual motivation May 17 in Whatcom County District Court. He also resolved two unrelated criminal cases.

He was previously facing a charge of one count of indecent liberties by forcible compulsion, which is a felony, for assaulting the female student.

In the sex crime case, he will undergo an evaluation for a special sex offender disposition alternative, which if granted, would allow him to participate in treatment.

The prosecution and defense attorneys are expected to present an agreed resolution at the boy’s disposition hearing recommending a special sex offender alternative. The alternative sentence would include two years of community supervision, an anti-harassment no-contact order with the female student and restitution to be determined.

If the sex offender alternative is granted and then later revoked, a manifest injustice sentence of 15-20 weeks at a juvenile detention institution will be recommended.

The boy’s disposition hearing is tentatively scheduled for July 19, according to court records.