Volunteer Fire Chief Pleads Not Guilty to 37 Counts of Child Sex Abuse 1 Week After His Arrest By Kimberlee Speakman

A volunteer fire chief in Washington has reportedly been charged with 37 counts of child sex abuse, to which he has pleaded not guilty.

Ilwaco volunteer Fire Chief Jefferey S. Archer was arrested by the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office on Jan. 9 and booked into Pacific County Jail, according to local outlets The Seattle Times, Chinook Observer and King5, who cited authorities.

He was charged with 10 counts of first-degree rape of a child, 21 counts of first-degree child molestation, four counts of second-degree child molestation, one count of dealing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct and one count of possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, according to court documents cited in the Chinook Observer. 

PEOPLE has reached out to the Pacific County Prosecutors’ Office, Pacific County Sheriff’s Office and the Ilwaco Volunteer Fire Department for comment, but didn’t immediately receive responses.

Archer’s arrest comes after an investigation by the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office. They investigated after receiving reports of allegations of possible child molestation and rape, according to King5 and The Seattle Times.

One boy, who was not named, claimed to police that he had been sexually abused by Archer every weekend for five months in 2019, claiming he would get marijuana and alcohol in exchange for “allowing” the acts, per the Times, which cited court records.

Court documents show that he claimed to police that he and another boy were both abused in their home in Ocean Park, and that police allege Archer was in an “intimate relationship” with the other boy, who was 18-years-old at the time, the Times reported. A statament of probable cause claims the alleged abuse began in 2013, per King5.

On Jan. 9, deputies with the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office and partner agencies executed a search warrant at a home, and Archer was detained afterward, King5 reported.

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Archer was placed on administrative leave from the Ilwaco Fire Department and remains in Pacific County Jail on $500,000 bail, the Chinook Observer reported. 

City administrator Holly Beller told the Times that Archer began working as a part-time fire chief in Ilwaco in 2021 before being hired as full-time chief in November 2023.

“The city will continue to monitor the investigation by the Pacific County sheriff’s office and respond appropriately as the matter is resolved,” Beller told the Times in a statement. “The city of Ilwaco and the Ilwaco Fire Department are deeply committed to protecting the citizens of Ilwaco in the meantime.”

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Archer pleaded not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on Friday, Jan. 16. 

The Pacific County Prosecutor’s Office told the Chinook Observer that they will be filing additional charges against Archer, which may include alleged offenses against additional victims.