A former counselor at a youth treatment facility in Brush Prairie is accused of having a sexual relationship with a minor both in and outside of the facility, court documents show.
Alicia Stowe, 34, of Vancouver, pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor in Clark County Superior Court last month. Stowe’s trial is scheduled for May.
She first appeared in court on Jan. 31, according to the state court database. She received a court summons earlier that month for the case, court documents show.
Police first learned of the alleged relationship from Stowe’s spouse in February 2022, a probable cause affidavit stated. Stowe’s spouse said the victim, a patient at Daybreak Youth Services, corresponded with Stowe and may have met in Lacey for a sexual encounter.
The victim told investigators he and Stowe had sex “one or a couple of times,” the affidavit stated. He said the first time happened when he was “technically” still an inpatient at Daybreak while he was waiting to be released.
The victim said he received oral sex from Stowe in an unoccupied building on the Daybreak campus, according to the affidavit. He said he consented, “but knew ‘people like that can’t do that kind of thing,’ indicating he knew that counselors can’t have sexual contact with people they are supervising,” the affidavit stated.
In a later interview, the victim said on three occasions Stowe performed oral sex on him while he was in inpatient treatment at Daybreak, the affidavit stated. The victim was 16 at the time and could not recall the exact dates of the sexual contact, though it was most likely in March 2021, according to the affidavit.
The victim also told investigators he met Stowe several times in Lacey and had sexual encounters, according to the affidavit.
Stowe told investigators she had regular contact with the victim but did not see him outside of the facility, the affidavit stated. When confronted about information contradicting her assertion, Stowe said she would talk to an attorney. A month later, she told investigators she would not provide a statement, according to the affidavit.
State and national records show Stowe no longer works at the youth treatment facility. The Washington State Department of Health lists Stowe as having an active credential as an agency affiliated counselor, last renewed in January. As of December, Stowe was listed as a peer specialist at Lifeline Connections Crisis Wellness Center, according to the National Provider Identifier.
