Charge against Rumble dropped

Oak Harbor’s prosecutor dropped a gross misdemeanor charge against Roosevelt Rumble Tuesday, but the case may not be over.

Police arrested and charged Rumble, 47, in Oak Harbor Municipal Court Sept. 13 with fourth degree assault with sexual motivation. He was accused of inappropriately touching a teenaged girl a number of times over the last year, according to a report by Officer Jennifer Porter.

Rumble has long been known as an advocate for children in the Oak Harbor community. He was the executive director of the Oak Harbor Boys and Girls Club until he quit last year to became a pastor at the New Life Missionary Baptist Church. He is no longer employed at the church.

Oak Harbor Prosecutor AnhKiet Ngo wrote in an email message that he dismissed the charge without prejudice, which means it could be re-filed at a later date.

“The reason for the dismissal is that I had reviewed the case with other prosecutors and chief criminal deputy prosecutors from around the region and we decided that the best course of action was to dismiss the case for the time being (without prejudice), and refer the case back to the police department for additional investigation,” Ngo wrote.

Rumble’s attorney had no comment about the dismissal.

You can reach News-Times reporter Jessie Stensland at jstensland@whidbeynewstimes.com or call 675-6611.