Man Pleads Guilty To Abusing Foster Child, Wife Charged With Molestation And Assault

A Forks, Port Angeles man may serve up to life in prison after pleading guilty to the second- and third-degree rape of his former foster child, an underaged Hoh tribal member.

A former Jefferson Transit bus driver, David “Barney” Allen, 47, reportedly repeatedly abused the victim while under his care during a span of five years. In her testimony, the girl accused Allen of assaulting her until she was at the age of 14. The last time he harassed the victim was two weeks before he was apprehended in September 2020, the presentence report shows.

According to the Peninsula Daily News, the Forks High School graduate Allen pleaded guilty to the charges on March 10 and was sentenced by Clallam County Superior Court Judge Simon Barnhart last week for his "horrific" offenses.

Allen could serve up to life in prison after the Indeterminate Sentence Review Board decides to release him after he serves at least 8½ years.

Meanwhile, Allen's wife Irma Perez Allen, 57, is also facing charges of third-degree child rape and molestation, second-degree assault with a deadly weapon, and tampering with a witness, for reportedly enabling her husband's behavior. Her status hearing is set for May 20 and a trial is slated for June 21. Last year, the Forks couple pleaded not guilty on multiple sex abuse charges.

Denying knowledge of the long-standing abuse, Irma Perez Allen was forced to report the recurring assault to the authorities after a relative of the victim pressured her to come forward. A former teaching assistant, the Allen wife refused to admit that she was aware of the mistreatment and denied that she herself had threatened the underaged girl on a handful of occasions.

The 14-year-old survivor's statement was read during the hearing.

“I would have had a better childhood if people would have listened to me when I said something. What you did hurt me to my core,” the victim said in her written testimony. “I’m not going to be sour about it. You would think that when abuse like this happens, the state would do something about it.”

The Allens had been foster parents at their Chuckhole Way home since 2001, according to the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families.