Former Kamiak Teacher Preyed on Minor Student for Sex. Thanks to Plea Deal, He'll Likely Avoid Prison
Prosecutors say Julian Willis fled rape charges in three states prior to pleading guilty to a felony sex crime last month. A hearing set for Tuesday, April 15 determines whether he'll face prison.
SNOHOMISH COUNTY COURTHOUSE — Julian Willis — the 36-year-old former Mukilteo School District coach and teacher arrested in June of 2023 and charged on five felony counts of sex crimes involving a minor student — is likely to avoid prison time thanks to an agreed sentencing recommendation arrived at by defense and county prosecutors.
Considering that Willis faced up to 25 years in prison at the time of his 2023 arrest; considering the fact that prosecutors told the court that Willis was a risk to the public who’d fled rape allegations in three states; and considering the fact that investigators established a DNA-link between Willis and his crime via genetic material he’d left on classroom carpets — it’s hard to view the outcome as anything but a win for Willis and his defense team.
That said Snohomish County Judge Jon T. Scott will have the final say at Willis’ sentencing hearing, scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, April 15 at 1:00 pm at the Snohomish County Courthouse.
Plea Deal Shrinks Five Felonies to One
“Notably, the consensual sexual relationship with (the victim) was made illegal only by the virtue of Julian’s status as an (educator) with the school district. Had Julian not been on staff at Kamiak, the sexual relationship between (the 17 year old) and Julian would’ve been completely legal.” - Defense Sentencing Memo
J425 reported last month that Willis pled guilty to one felony count of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor in the First Degree — a charge that carries a maximum of 60 months in prison along with mandatory sex offender registration.
In return for that guilty plea, J425 can now report that Willis received a joint sentencing recommendation, petitioning the court to hand down a low-end sentence of six months incarceration followed by 12 months of community custody.
This despite the fact that — for the first time — Willis is admitting culpability a sex crime. Prosecutors say the Lake Stevens man has previously faced numerous allegations from women and girls across at least four Western states.
But up until his guilty plea last month, with regard to sex with a minor Kamiak student, Willis had previously avoid any culpability for alleged sex crimes, allegations of which spanned four states and over a decade.
The Kamiak Case - “What I Want to Do Will Get Us Both in Trouble”
J425 was first to report that Willis was under criminal investigation for a series of minor-involved sex crimes involving a 17-year-old student and volunteer athletic trainer whom Willis groomed while working as a football coach in 2022, before initiating a sexual relationship with the girl that continued from November 2022 until late March 2023.
J425 was also the first to report the stomach-churning details of the case including the fact that Willis would pull his victim out of her classes — for sexual interludes in empty portables — during days in which he worked as a substitute teacher at the Mukilteo School District high school in 2022-23.
Willis was fired in May of 2023, hours after J425 published a story detailing how Mukilteo detectives had obtained a warrant to test classroom carpets for traces of Willis’ genetic material.
The application for the warrant included photos and drawings detailing precisely where Willis had placed his victim (atop student desks) — and where the victim had told police Willis had left genetic material behind. A judge approved the warrant after detectives verified the victim’s story with ultra-violet light inspection.
Ultimately, the WSP Crime Lab returned a probable match, intractably linking Willis to a felony defined solely by whether a public school employee has sexual contact with a minor student.
Charging documents filed by Mukilteo Police paint a disturbing picture of a young girl pulled from her activity as a volunteer athletic trainer — and later directly out of her ongoing classes — in order to serve as Willis’ sex object.
Willis’ team apparently sees things differently.
“Completely Legal and Consensual”
“It is a shame that incarceration will be imposed at all in this case,” writes Willis’ defense counsel, adding that “the low-end recommendation…is just and appropriate, and strikes the right balance between the offense conduct and the mitigating aspects of Mr. Willis’ background and history.” - Defense Sentencing Memorandum
Sentencing memorandums filed by the defense attempt to paint Willis’ felony sex crime with a minor student as both consensual and almost-legal. Further efforts at mitigation include a social worker linking Willis’ criminal behavior to an admitted sex addition, and an abusive upbringing, and a compulsive need to “be seen …and loved.”
While Willis has technically accepted responsibility for one felony minor-involved sex crime, defense statements submitted ahead of sentencing paint a different story, detailing how Willis’ sex crime involving a 17-year-old girl was both consensual — and would’ve been “completely legal” - but for the fact that Willis was “on staff at Kamiak.”
Hit the jump for full details on the charges, the plea agreement, watch the TikToks Willis filmed from the portable where the crimes occurred, hear Willis’ response to allegations of sexual assault across four states and read the character references community members submitted in support of Willis…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to The Journal 425 to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.