Several Lake Washington High School students were in attendance to show support for former boys basketball head coach and instructional assistant Barry Johnson, who was in court Monday morning.
The pretrial hearing was for charges of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes while at the high school. A Kirkland Municipal Court judge granted a request for a continuance from Johnson’s lawyer.
“We need time to do more investigating and we have more interviews to do,” said Johnson’s attorney.
Pro tem Judge John Olson, who was sitting in for Judge Michael Lambo, granted the motion during the quick hearing. The ruling pushes court proceedings back to Aug. 6. Johnson has plead not guilty to the gross misdemeanor.
Following the hearing, Johnson continued his silence on the charges and the events that took place last fall.
“No comment,” said Johnson, when asked about the case outside the courtroom.
Three Lake Washington High School students, including senior Kangs basketball players Cody Bernstein and Matt Staudacher, along with ASB President Zak Cherif, were all in the courtroom during the hearing.
The students seemed to share their support for Johnson following the hearing as they spoke outside the courtroom. All three Lake Washington High School students declined to comment to the Reporter.
Johnson’s father Lee, who was also an assistant coach for the team, was also in attendance.
Former coach Johnson was charged April 3 in connection with alleged misconduct concerning a 17-year-old Lake Washington High School student who was in one of his classes. The student has not been identified as she is a minor.
The alleged victim claims in court documents that Johnson sexually harassed her in person, via text message and through her Facebook page.
Johnson was placed on administrative leave after the student reported the incidents to a school counselor, according to court documents. The leave also came mid-way through a basketball season, which ended without Johnson on the bench and the team competing at the state tournament.
The coach officially quit both of his positions with the school on March 13.
