Martin Hall worker charged with raping girl

MEDICAL LAKE — A former Martin Hall Juvenile Corrections Facility employee has been arrested for allegedly raping a juvenile inmate.

Antwon D. Jones, 40, was arrested Feb. 29 on charges of third-degree child rape and first-degree custodial sexual misconduct, court records state.

Martin Hall, 201 Pine St., houses juvenile offenders from across Northeast Washington, including Lincoln County. Jones was fired Feb. 7 following an investigation into a sexual assault reported Jan 26, court records state.

According to staff, an anonymous email was received, alleging Jones violated policy during the transport of a 15-year-old girl detained at the facility, records state. The email also raised concerns about the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Following an internal investigation, records show Jones was terminated and the incident was reported to the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 13.

Sexual assault unit detectives took over the case Feb. 14, conducting interviews, gathering evidence and obtaining a search warrant to collect DNA samples from both the suspect and victim, records state. The samples were sent to the Washington State Crime Lab for analysis.

Records state detectives accumulated enough evidence to charge Jones with third-degree child rape and first-degree custodial sexual misconduct.

At 9 a.m. Feb. 29, Jones arrived at the Public Safety Building for a follow-up interview with investigators, after which he was arrested and booked into the Spokane County Jail, records state.