Former Spokane police officer slams his accusers on Facebook hours before jury hands him guilty verdict

As the jury deliberated his fate, a former Spokane police officer on trial for rape posted his thoughts on social media Tuesday about the two women who accused him of sexually assaulting them.

Nathan Nash called one of his accusers, a now 25-year-old woman, “a known meth-head” and accused her of assaulting her boyfriend in one of seven Facebook posts he made Tuesday morning. The posts included court documents that identified the women by name.

The jury found Nash, 39, guilty on two counts of rape later in the day. Nash was acquitted of unlawful imprisonment and found not guilty of a third rape charge.

On Facebook, Nash also accused prosecutors of having an agenda against police officers.

“The great lengths they (prosecutors) have gone to in order destroy my life just at the off-chance of trying to convict a cop is all this case really boils down to in the end,” Nash wrote. “It was driven by a political agenda, plain and simple.”

Two women said Nash sexually assaulted them in 2019 during follow-up visits after he responded to their reports of separate physical assaults. The Spokesman-Review does not typically name victims of sexual assault.

The 25-year-old woman’s attorney, Jeffry Finer, noted in response to the post that both sides bring questionable evidence to the judge before trial, and it’s their job to rule on admissibility.

“It’s common and necessary for a fair trial,” Finer said, of the judge’s job to rule on evidence.

Finer’s client was given a drug test shortly after the incident that came back negative except for THC, which is legal for recreational use in Washington state.

“This is a non-issue,” Finer said of the accusation his client used drugs.

“What people involved in sexual violence cases have learned is that desperate defendants sometimes resort to revictimizing the original victim,” Finer said. “It appears he is intent on revictimizing them.”

Nash’s defense attorney Wayne Fricke and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Amanda Fry said they had not seen Nash’s posts when called for comment Tuesday afternoon. Both declined to comment.

Shortly after Fricke was reached for comment, the posts on Nash’s Facebook page were deleted. They had been up for about five hours before they were removed Tuesday afternoon.

During the trial, Nash maintained his innocence and denied assaulting both victims.

In the series of posts, Nash alleged both women who accused him of rape had acted violently in other situations before going on to accuse prosecutors and Judge John Cooney of hiding information from the jury.

“I am a big fan of transparency, and the court allowing the prosecutors to hide as many things as it has from the jury has never been fair nor just,” Nash wrote. “If the truth cannot be heard in the courtroom, then I will make sure it is heard in a public forum.”

One of a Judge’s roles is to rule on what evidence is admissible in a criminal trial.

Nash went on to post multiple court documents, along with the defense’s DNA expert’s report, and the study he relied on in writing that report. He also posted what he said were pages of discovery related to both women.

He discussed the now 41-year-old accuser’s mental illness at length and said due to her conditions she was not a credible, an argument Fricke also made in his closing argument.

The jury in Nash’s case began deliberations at about noon Monday and delivered the verdict just before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.