A fired Spokane Police officer awaiting trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a victim of domestic violence was arrested Wednesday on new charges after another woman reported he raped her while on duty.
Nathan Nash, 38, faces charges of second-degree rape and unlawful imprisonment in the new case, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release.
He was first arrested in 2019 and was soon fired by the Spokane Police Department.
Both sexual assault victims told investigators that Nash responded to their calls for police assistance, then later followed up with them alone. It was during these “follow-ups” that Nash sexually assaulted them, the victims told detectives. Julie Humphreys, a spokesperson for the Spokane Police Department, said it’s not uncommon for officers to follow up on an investigation alone, but corporals would typically be the ones to take pictures for evidence.
The Spokane Police Department made a brief statement Wednesday reiterating the statement Chief Craig Meidl made in 2019 when Nash was first charged.
“I (we) would like to thank those who showed great courage by coming forward and bringing these allegations to light,” Meidl wrote.
In October 2019, Nash responded to a domestic violence call. The woman wanted to show Nash evidence she had collected, according to court documents obtained by TV station KXLY.
Police say the woman told investigators Nash returned to her home a week later in a marked police vehicle and entered her bedroom to examine her when he allegedly sexually assaulted her, the station reported.
Nash was arrested and booked on charges of second-degree rape but was released on his own recognizance
Nash pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case has not gone to trial, police say. He was terminated from the police department.
On July 6, in a separate incident, a woman called police to follow up on a complaint she had made in 2019 about a neighbor she accused of assaulting her.
During the call, she mentioned that Nash had allegedly "violated" her, according to court documents obtained by The Spokesman-Review newspaper.
On July 5, 2019, Nash and another officer responded to a call from the woman and checked an injury on her leg, according to a search warrant, the paper reported.
The search warrant says Nash returned the following day alone to take pictures, the paper reported. Dressed in his uniform, he allegedly proceeded to lift up the woman's dress and assault her, the search warrant says.
"He had a gun and everything … he had his uniform on," the woman said, according to court documents, the paper reported.
"I was afraid to fight … he had his uniform and gun on and everything," the alleged victim told investigators. "I got in a paralyzed state and didn't want to fight him."
She told investigators she was too embarrassed and traumatized to tell anyone about what had happened, the paper reported.
It was not immediately clear if Nash has entered a plea to the latest charge.
In 2019, Spokane Police Chief Craig Meidl made a brief statement, saying he "would like to thank those who showed great courage by coming forward and bringing these allegations to light."
Nash’s trial for the initial counts of rape and official misconduct was set to begin on Aug. 30, but according to court documents filed last month, the prosecution may ask to postpone the trial to include information about these new allegations.