South Whidbey resident jailed on child molestation charges

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, October 10, 2007

A Clinton man will face first-degree child molestation and second-degree incest charges in Island County Court on Oct. 15.

Police arrested Dallas Broyles, a registered sex offender, on Sept. 27 based on a tip from the family, said Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks.

“The information came from a family member directly to police,” Banks said.

Sheriff’s Detective Sue Quandt interviewed the 4-year-old alleged victim, Banks added.

Banks charged Broyles, 38, with first-degree child molestation and second-degree incest on Oct. 1.

To protect the victim, Banks was tightlipped about the relationship between Broyles and the victim.

“Incest only means that the perpetrator and victim are related,” Banks explained. “It can be as ancestor, descendant, brother or sister including half-blood relations and step-children.

“I’d rather not say any more, in the interests of providing some small degree of protection of the identity of the victim,” he added.

Broyles is a level 2 sex offender after a 2002 conviction in Colorado for sexual assault of a child.

He also has a conviction in another state, Banks said.

“It appears he also has a 1993 conviction in Utah for sexual exploitation of a minor,” Banks said. “The information we have on the out-of-state convictions is preliminary, and we are seeking official court records to confirm their existence and determine the exact nature of the offenses.”

Island County Judge Alan Handcock set bail at $100,000 for Broyles.

Broyles is currently being held in the county jail pending his arraignment, said Sheriff Mark Brown.

In the meantime, the sheriff will continue to investigate the crimes for which Broyles was arrested.

Broyles’ arraignment is set for Oct. 15 and a trial date will be set at that time. Because he is in custody, the trial date will be within 60 days.

While the arrest occurred last month, it took the sheriff’s office and the Island County prosecutor a short period of time to conduct a preliminary investigation before releasing the information to the media, Brown said.

“We have a certain amount of time to hand pre-trial information back and forth, which caused a delay,” Brown said.