Lewis County Sirens.com

By Sharyn  L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter

CHEHALIS – A 36-year-old member of the National Guard will be in court this week to make his plea to one count of second-degree rape, in connection with allegations made by a teenage member of his household.

Matthew W. Farson was charged in Lewis County Superior Court following an investigation that began when an officer responded to Providence Centralia Hospital to speak with a 17-year-old girl on July 1 about an alleged sexual assault.

According to charging papers, the girl said the night before, Farson had come into her room, and drank beer and vodka with her on her balcony until she got sick. The girl said he helped her into bed where she passed out, but she awoke to his hand inside her shorts, the documents state.

When interviewed by police, Farson reportedly said he’d gotten the teen drunk to teach her not to get to that point, and also because she wasn’t sleeping well, gave her part of one of his old prescription pills, Seroquel. He denied touching her inappropriately.

When he appeared before a judge for a bail hearing last Monday, defense attorney Joely O’Rourke indicated Farson’s only employment is the National Guard, something she thinks he only does one weekend a month.

He was released on an unsecured appearance bond, co-signed by his father, O’Rourke said.

Court papers show Farson with an address in Curtis, but O’Rourke said he lives in Centralia.

Farson has no criminal history, other than two misdemeanors from almost 20 years ago, O’Rourke said. He qualified for a court-appointed lawyer. His arraignment is Thursday.

Meanwhile, a Centralia father of six was sentenced last week to a minimum of six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree child molestation

Jeffrey A. Bedsole Jr., 32, was arrested in February following an investigation that began when an 11-year-old girl’s mother contacted Centralia police. He admitted sexually abusing a young relative and wanted to plead guilty from the start, according to authorities.

Defense attorney David Arcuri proposed, and prosecutors also recommended, Bedsole be given a sentencing alternative in which he would be locked up for a period of time, undergo intensive treatment for a period of time with the remainder of his sentence deferred as long as he abided by strict conditions.

Bedsole read a letter of apology to the victim when he appeared before Lewis County Superior Court Judge Richard Brosey on Wednesday morning.

The girl’s mother told the judge she wasn’t opposed to the type of sentence and that the girl didn’t want to see him be locked up.

Judge Brosey noted that even though a pre-sentence evaluation indicated Bedsole was amenable to treatment, he didn’t believe the defendant could abide by some of the other conditions.

Among them, he would have to hold down a full-time job and provide for his family, the judge said.

“The U.S. Navy for four years was the longest he’s ever held a job,” Brosey said. “The long and the short of it is, I just don’t see this working.”

“It will be better for all for Mr. Bedsole to deal with his issues in a secure setting,” Brosey said.

Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2015 at 7:42 pm and is filed under Top story of the day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.