Trial scheduled Dec. 5 in 1980s rape case

Published 12:00 am Thursday, January 1, 1970

PORT ORCHARD — Trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 5 in Superior Court for Ronald Lee Paulson, who was returned here from Oklahoma during summer to face charges related to alleged sex crimes dating to 1983-87.

Paulson, 70, is in Kitsap County Jail on $500,000 bail. He is charged with five counts of first-degree statutory rape, two counts of indecent liberties, and one count of bail jump.

According to court documents, prosecutors plan to call 11 witnesses, including the alleged victim, who is now 39.

Paulson, who also went by the name Warron Big Eagle, was arrested in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, in May, after an investigation by Poulsbo police and seven other agencies in four states. He was returned to Kitsap County and booked into county jail on June 23.

In a letter to the court, the alleged victim asked that the court not lower Paulson’s bail, noting that he fled the state in 1990.

“The last time he was granted bond he ran for 26 years,” she wrote at a bail hearing on June. “Those 26 years were hell for me. I have lived my life in the shadow of the things that that man has done to me. He ruined my life and all I am asking for is the opportunity to face him in court. … I need to be able to have my day in court with him. I need that closure.”

She added, “I have numbed my pain with drugs all my life. I have been sober since August of last year. In order to continue on my path to putting my life back together, I need to face my demon. That demon being [Paulson].”

In 1987, the Poulsbo Police Department investigating rape allegations identified Paulson as the suspect. During the investigation, Paulson left Washington and a warrant for his arrest was issued.

In 1990, Paulson was arrested in Kern County, California, and returned to Kitsap County to stand trial. Paulson posted bond and was released pending trial. Paulson failed to appear for trial, on December 1990, and another arrest warrant was issued.

In May, the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office contacted the Poulsbo Police Department and advised there was still an active warrant for Paulson’s arrest. Detective David Shurick enlisted the assistance of detectives from several other agencies in the area as well as outside of Washington who had arrest information regarding Paulson.

“Using various forms of information and social media websites, a link was found to a person identifying himself as Warron Big Eagle in Pottawatomie County,” Deputy Police Chief Andy Pate said in an earlier interview. “Other investigative means were used to confirm the identity of Big Eagle and to verify his real name as that of Paulson, the individual wanted in this case.”

Paulson lived a public life in Oklahoma.

YouTube videos, now removed, showed him with his Native American flute at public events. He worked as a roofing salesman, his wife Debra told the Herald. A month before his arrest, Shawnee Outlook magazine reported on his part in an annual arts event to raise money for the revitalization of downtown Shawnee.

Shurick contacted the Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office and requested their assistance in apprehending Paulson. Pottawatomie authorities were able to locate Paulson with information provided, confirmed Paulson’s identity with a fingerprint match, and arrested him at his home.

In an interview after Paulson’s arrest, Debra Big Eagle told the Herald that her husband is “a good, honest, hardworking man” who first started sharing the gospel at RV campgrounds and later gave sermons at his local church. “He very much loves the Lord,” she said. She said she didn’t know much about his life before they married, but said, “People have a right to change.”

The prosecutor is Kelly Montgomery. Paulson’s attorney is Public Defender Kimberly Sloan.