PORT ANGELES, Wash. -- The principal accused of sexually abusing two young girls in a classroom was charged Friday with eight counts of molestation and four counts of child rape.
Clallam County sheriff's detectives arrested 55-year-old Douglas J. Allison after two young girls -- ages 10- and 11-years old -- came forward to say Allison had sexually assaulted them at the Mountain View Christian School, according to the sheriff's office.
Allison, who is a teacher at the school as well as the principal, was booked into the Clallam County Corrections Facility where a judge set bail at $100,000.
Mountain View Christian School, located at 255 Medsker Road in Sequim, is operated by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, according to the sheriff's office. Sheriff's Deputies are working in cooperation with the Superintendent of the Seventh Day Adventist Schools in the Pacific Northwest as the investigation continues.
Charging documents say Allison admitted to touching the girls during a phone conversation with one victim's mother. Investigators listened with the mother's permission and used the information to obtain a search warrant for the suspect's cell phone.
After arresting Allison at his home, he allegedly confessed to officers.
Associate Pastor Collette Pekar of Sequim Seventh-day Adventist Church knows the victims and their families, who attend services.
She also teaches bible study one-day-a-week at Mountain View.
"We are very, very sad," said Pekar. "Our congregation is grieving. We love our kids, we love our families. We're praying for complete healing, for complete justice."
Pekar says the case not only deeply affects the victims and their families, but also Allison's wife and those who care about him.
"All humans have the potential to do horribly awfully things and just the realization that these things can happen is overwhelmingly sad," she said.
Allison was placed on administrative leave as soon as school officials learned about the allegations from police.
He has worked at Mountain View Christian School for three years, and according to investigators, held a similar position in California.
Clallam County Sheriff's deputies are checking with California authorities to find out if there may be more children who have been victimized.