Dolezal sex abuse charges dismissed

COEUR d'ALENE - A Colorado court dismissed four felony counts of sexual abuse against Rachel Dolezal's biological brother Monday afternoon.

"I can definitely confirm the court dismissed the charges today," said Norm Mueller, Joshua Dolezal's attorney in Clear Creek County, Colorado.

Mueller said he was not at liberty to discuss the details of why the prosecutor dismissed the charges against Joshua Dolezal, 39. But Mueller said it was long overdue, and he feels justice has been served.

"The prosecutor said he could not prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt," he said.

Sources close to the case told The Press the dismissal was prompted in part by questionable credibility on the part of Joshua Dolezal's accusers.

Joshua Dolezal, 39, is the eldest child of the Dolezal clan. Rachel is his only biological sibling - Larry and Ruthanne Dolezal, their parents, have four younger, adopted children who are black.

The Press reported on June 11 that Rachel Dolezal, then the head of the Spokane NAACP and chair of that city's police oversight commission, was portraying herself as a black woman when she is, according to her parents, white. Lawrence and Ruthanne Dolezal provided a birth certificate and childhood photos as proof.

Following publication of The Press story, Rachel Dolezal made several statements to various media outlets that her parents' motivation to come forward about her ethnic identity was motivated by family legal matters in Colorado.

The alleged incidents of sexual assault, according to a Clear Creek County arrest warrant affidavit obtained by The New York Daily News and reviewed by The Press, supposedly occurred at Larry and Ruthanne's house in Colorado "in 2001 or 2002." The victim, whose name was redacted in the affidavit, "was 6 or 7 years old," and Joshua Dolezal was "19 years older."

The affidavit included claims that an older incident of alleged abuse of another victim in 1991 had a racial element.

"The family had a subscription to National Geographic magazine," the affidavit read. "...Joshua Dolezal showed [redacted] his collection of photos of topless and naked African women."

It continued: "Joshua Dolezal was turned on by the black body and was curious about black women sexually."

Rachel Dolezal's parents could not be reached for comment Monday, but they have adamantly denied the alleged abuse took place.

The allegations against Joshua Dolezal were significant because, in interviews with other media outlets, Larry and Ruthanne Dolezal alleged Rachel orchestrated abuse claims to gain custody of her brother Izaiah. Izaiah, who is black, lives with Rachel Dolezal in Spokane - and Rachel claims he is her son.

"If she's alleging there was abuse in our family from years past, then it's false and there's no need to comment on anything of that nature," Lawrence Dolezal told The Washington Post in June. "That's just utter falsehood."

"The allegations are totally false and malicious," Ruthanne Dolezal told Fox News last month. "They're fabricated."