PORT ANGELES — A 14-year-old boy convicted in February of molesting a 6-year-old girl at a Port Angeles church’s Sunday service daycare received a suspended sentence on Wednesday.
The boy, whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, pleaded not guilty to first-degree molestation charges.
Clallam County Juvenile Court Commissioner William Knebes found the boy guilty after a trial.
On Wednesday, Knebes sentenced the boy to 15 to 36 weeks in juvenile prison, which was suspended on the condition that the teenager complete treatment.
He will also have to register as a sex offender.
“I don’t suspect he’ll have a problem completing it,” said Deputy Prosecutor Tracey Lassus, who recommended the sentence.
If a judge finds that the boy failed to successfully complete the program, he will serve the sentence in juvenile prison.
Appeal is planned
Public defender Suzanne Hayden, who represented the boy, said he plans to appeal the conviction.
Hayden said there was inappropriate contact and that some kind of charges were warranted, but took issue with drawings depicting the boy’s genitalia during trial.
The treatment program could last up to two years, Hayden said, but noted that he will probably complete it in 12 to 18 months.
The boy also is eligible to have the sex offender registration requirement lifted, Hayden said.