PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has pleaded guilty to raping and molesting a child who suffers from a mental disorder.
Byron G. Midkiff, 42, will be sentenced Feb. 18 in Clallam County Superior Count.
He pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of second-degree rape of a child with domestic violence and two counts of second-degree child molestation with domestic violence for crimes he committed against a 12-year-old girl between March and September 2019.
Midkiff was originally charged with first-degree child rape and first-degree child molestation.
He faces a standard sentencing range of 17 years, six months to 23 years, four months in prison, according to his statement on plea of guilty.
Midkiff told the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office that the victim had been diagnosed with schizophrenia, Deputy William Cortani said in the affidavit for probable cause.
Midkiff was not under arrest and was not in restraints when he offered a confession Sept. 8, Cortani said in the affidavit.
“After speaking with Byron, it was decided to read him the Miranda Rights,” Cortani said.
“Byron invoked his rights and stated he should get an attorney. Byron confirmed that what he had told was the truth and his statements were made voluntarily.”
The crimes were reported to authorities by the girl’s mother on Sept. 8
The girl told investigators that she was 6 years old when Midkiff began to touch her sexually, Cortani said.
Midkiff, a longtime U.S. Postal Service worker, had no criminal history until the child rape allegations surfaced, court papers said.
The state Department of Corrections will conduct a pre-sentencing investigation prior to Midkiff’s sentencing, Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour ordered Thursday.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at [email protected] dailynews.com.
