CLARKSTON, WA – A 53-year-old Clarkston man was arrested Friday afternoon for allegedly raping a 39-year-old woman whom officials call a “vulnerable adult.” Chance W. Goldsworthy was booked into the Asotin County Jail on charges of Rape-2nd Degree Domestic Violence, Assault-4th Degree Domestic Violence, and Attempted Tampering With a Witness Domestic Violence.
According to a Probable Cause Affidavit, the woman called Clarkston Police at around 12:32 p.m. to report that Goldsworthy was at her home and was refusing to leave. She reportedly told the dispatcher that he was not being physical with anyone at that time and that Goldsworthy was her ex-boyfriend.
“Dispatchers noted that they could hear a male voice in the background and [she] was telling the male she was not talking to anyone. I was familiar with the two mentioned parties from previous Domestic Violence reports,” the court document says.
When an officer arrived at the home, Goldsworthy claimed there were no problems.
“I told him that it appeared that [the woman] wanted him to leave. He immediately turned his attention to [her] and started touching her shoulder and trying to talk face to face with her in very close proximity. I told Goldsworthy I didn’t think [she] wanted him to touch her but he disregarded my comment,” the officer says in the affidavit. “He mentioned something about talking about something together and mentioned “I wont say anyting more about that.”
The officer noted that while the woman was nodding in agreement, she turned away from Goldsworthy and looked displeased, almost as if she was going to start crying, the document says.
Another officer arrived on the scene, and Goldsworthy was instructed to break contact with the woman and speak with him.
“He responded “No, everythings fine.” He continued to rub [the woman’s] arms and shoulders and would not acknowledge my directions,” the first officer says in the affidavit. “[The woman] told him “I think you should probably go talk to his partner.” Goldsworthy told [her] “I know but everything is fine.” He stayed within what appeared to be uncomfortable proximity to [her] when he told her this, keeping his face right in front of hers.”
The court document says the first officer again ordered Goldsworthy to stop talking with [the woman] and to walk outside to the secondary officer.
“Goldsworthy ignored that and [began] trying to hug [the woman] and touch her shoulders and arms more. [She] was obviously uncomfortable and told him “Please, just go talk to them,” the affidavit says.
Goldsworthy then walked outside and started talking to the officer, the document says.
“I asked [the woman] what happened…that prompted her call to Police and she told me that Goldsworthy grabbed her left arm today and squeezed hard enough to cause her pain. I went to look at her arm and Goldsworthy let himself back in through the front door,” the affidavit says. “I heard [the other officer] say “hold on.” as if to stop him from coming back in.
The officer believed Goldsworthy would engage with him, but the court document says instead, he walked by him and immediately put his arm around the woman.
“He said “Hey can I just tell you one thing real quick? Everything is fine.” At this point I took hold of Goldsworthy by his arm and body and pulled him away from [the woman]. I notified him that she obviously did not wish to be touched by him any more,” the affidavit says.
The officer physically directed Goldsworthy to the front door; then he walked out front on his own, the officer says in the court document.
“[The woman] told me that Goldsworthy grabbed her arm and squeezed it because she had told him that she wants him to leave the house. [She] explained that during the incident Goldsworthy told [her] she was telling him things that he didn’t want to hear,” the affidavit says.
The officer spoke privately with the woman in a different room because her children were present, the officer says in the document.
“Once [she] was away from her kids she started to become more emotional and explained the incident in greater detail. She advised that [she’s] been telling Goldsworthy to leave and he will respond “What do you want me to go find another woman?” [She] told me that this conversation occurred in her bedroom where we were now, and she was lying down. She laid her left arm down on the bed as if to act out the assault. She told me that Goldsworthy pinned her arm down to the bed and put his other hand on her neck. She told me she was not being strangled, did not lose consciousness, and was able to [breathe,] but he did put pressure on her neck. She advised that Goldsworthy was raising his voice to her while the assault occurred.”
The woman went on to tell the officer that she had been asking Goldsworthy to leave for days and that he told her “he didn’t want to leave, wasn’t going to leave, and there was nothing she could do about it. She described their relationship recently as being very difficult as they would talk, then fight, then he’d blame her for everything,” the affidavit says.
The officer went outside and read Goldsworthy his Miranda Rights.
“I asked Goldsworthy about their argument, and asked if [she] had been asking him to leave for the last few days. Goldsworthy said [the woman] has not asked him to leave,” the officer says in the affidavit. “He said, in fact, [she] was saying they would be getting married very soon and that everything was fine. He kept telling me that he wanted to go inside, grab his phone, and then go for a walk, and everything was fine.”
The court document says the officer asked Goldsworthy if he had placed his hands on the woman or forced her to have intimate relations.
“Goldsworthy said “I didn’t put my hands on her at all, I just said calm down, dont freak out, because she thought I was going to leave. I never put my hands on her…” I told Goldsworthy that [she] told me that while she was in bed he put his hand on her arm to hold her arm down. Goldsworthy said “No, I just grabbed her arm settling and said ‘honey just calm down everythings fine,” the affidavit says. “He denied putting his hand on her chest or neck when asked. He then, again, told me he will just go inside to grab his phone then go for a walk.”
Goldsworthy reportedly told the officer that he did not force her to do anything else, and he “stuttered through his answer.”
“I told Goldsworthy that [the woman] seems scared of him right now. Again, he said I’m just gonna go grab my phone and go for a walk. I told him that had nothing to do with what I said,” according to the affidavit. “I notified him that she appeared scared when I first arrived and he insisted on touching her. He claimed he was just trying to calm her down. I reminded him that I actually needed to physically intervene to get him to step away from her. He responded by telling me he was just going to grab his phone and go for a walk.”
At that point, the officer told Goldsworthy that he was under arrest.
“Goldsworthy asked multiple times to speak with [the woman] and asked what he was being arrested for. I told Goldsworthy that he was, at least, being arrested Assault 4th Degree DV and potentially for Rape after I concluded my interviews. I told him that he will not be speaking with [the woman] anymore today,” the officer says in the affidavit. “Goldsworthy continued to ask if he could say just one thing’ to [her]. That request was denied again. He tried to shout to [the woman] as we escorted him to the Patrol Unit.”
Goldsworthy was then transported to the Asotin County Jail while the first officer completed his interview with the alleged victim, which included the Washington State Domestic Violence Supplement.
“On the Supplement, [she] identified five Different Factors, and two Lethality Factors,” the affidavit says, adding that during the brief follow-up interview the woman disclosed that Goldsworthy allegedly strangled her approximately four months ago.
Meanwhile, after Goldsworthy arrived at the jail he was informed that he could not contact the alleged victim, but he immediately called the woman’s phone.
“The first time he called, her answering machine picked up and he did not leave a message. The second time he called, approximately one minute later, he did leave a message. In that message a male voice can be heard. I recognized this voice as Goldsworthy, as I had spoken with him a short time before. In the voicemail he states “Honey, I need to talk to you. Its very important I promise. Everythings gonna be fine, just talk to me. I’ll call back but I can only call so much. Please answer if I call, okay? I love you very much. Please, I’ll try to call back in a little bit. I love you very much, okay goodbye. Please answer my call, bye,” the court document says.
As a result, a separate incident report was created by a jail sergeant for Attempted Tampering With a Witness.
“Goldsworthy called the Victim pleading with her to answer his phone calls and that “everything would be fine” if she answered his calls. I believe that these phone calls were efforts to make the Victim withhold any further information she may provide to Law Enforcement relevant to the criminal investigation at hand,” the affidavit says.
For more information on domestic violence, visit HERE.
Last year, the Washington State Legislature passed House Bill 1715. It was signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee on May 15, 2023 and went into effect last July. The law enacted comprehensive protections for victims of domestic violence and other violence involving family members or intimate partners.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, help is available HERE.
