PORT ANGELES — A 21-year-old Sequim man has been sentenced to more than one year in prison for third-degree rape of a child, Clallam County prosecutors announced.
Nikolas “Niko” R. Sanchez pleaded guilty July 6 and was sentenced Tuesday to one year and one day in prison plus three years of community custody.
Misdemeanor dismissed
A misdemeanor count of furnishing liquor to minors was dismissed as part of a plea agreement.
Investigators said Sanchez picked up two girls from the Sequim Skate Park on May 6 and took them to a Carlsborg residence, where he provided them with alcohol and had sex with them.
The girls were 14 and 16, Clallam County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Millet said in the affidavit for probable cause.
Sanchez told Millet that the sex was consensual and that both girls had said they were 18, court papers said.
The Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office did not file a charge related to Sanchez’s sexual encounter with the 16-year-old because 16 is the legal age of consent in Washington state and because there was insufficient evidence that the girl was unable to consent, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Steve Johnson said in a Tuesday news release.
Sentencing range
Based on his offender score, Sanchez faced a standard sentencing range of 12 months plus one day to 14 months for the felony charge.
Clallam County Superior Court Judge Brian Coughenour followed the sentence as recommended by Johnson and defense attorney John Hayden of Clallam Public Defender.
Sanchez told a state Department of Corrections officer that he “accepts responsibility for his actions and wants to do his time and put this whole thing in the past,” according to a presentencing investigation.
Sanchez will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56450, or at rollikainen@peninsula dailynews.com.
