Patrick Henry Nicholson, Jr., 44, a former firefighter and paramedic with East Jefferson Fire and Rescue has pled guilty to two felony charges of Voyeurism and was sentenced on July 7 to twelve months in prison.
Mr. Nicholson worked as a firefighter and paramedic with EJFR between 2007 and 2015. During the same time period he was also the Fire Chief for the fire departments in Brinnon and Discovery Bay. While at EJFR Mr. Nicholson surreptitiously recorded a female fire fighter by hiding a camera in a wall outlet in the EJFR female dorm room. Additional charges occurred in Clallam County where between 2009 and 2012 Mr. Nicholson made video recordings as he had sex with three women with whom he was in intimate relationships.
Mr. Nicholson was charged in Jefferson County with two felony Voyeurism counts committed in December 2012 for the video recording a female colleague at the EJFR station in Jefferson County. He also was charged in Clallam County with four felony charges of Voyeurism committed between 2009 and 2012 for video recording the three women without their knowledge or consent. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Offices in the two counties worked closely together to reach a global resolution on the cases.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brent Basden called Mr. Nicholson’s conduct “disturbing,” before sentencing him to the maximum term of twelve months in prison. The judge also ordered Mr. Nicholson to register as a sex offender, submit to a psychosexual evaluation, stay away from the four women in the case, and pay restitution to the victims. Mr. Nicholson is prohibited from owning or possessing any electronic device with recording capability unless specifically approved by the Department of Corrections.
The female firefighter addressed the court at the sentencing hearing, describing her anguish at having been recorded without her knowledge in such a vulnerable state. One of the women who had been in a relationship with the defendant submitted a victim impact statement to the court, saying that Mr. Nicholson taunted her that no one would believe her if she went to the police.
During the investigation, Detective Jon Stuart of the Port Townsend Police Department discovered additional surreptitious video recordings but charges could not be filed because the victims could not be identified or the recordings occurred in a public place.
Prosecutor James Kennedy, praised the victim for confronting Mr. Nicholson during her victim impact statement. “It is never easy for a victim to confront their perpetrator. In this case, the victim stood strong and gave a moving description of how this crime impacted her. My hope is that this sentence brings some closure for her.”