He chatted with teens on Facebook. Judge says the community will be safer with him locked up

A Tri-City mother choked back tears as she recently described her punch-in-the-gut feeling when discovering sexually explicit messages sent by an older man to her teen.

The actions of Ian R. Findlay completely changed her son’s life, said the woman.

The boy used to give the proverbial shirt off his back if he thought someone needed it more. Now her troubled son is verbally abusive to loved ones and has been caught stealing, each time while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, she said.

“He still thinks Ian is a nice guy. My son will never be the same,” the mother told Benton County Superior Court judge. “I truly believe the only away to keep Ian Findlay away from children is to lock him up.”

And that’s just what Judge Alex Ekstrom did, ordering the 36-year-old Richland man to spend six years and three months in state prison.

The sentence covered two separate cases with three teen victims and a total of six felony sex crimes.

Ekstrom considered going above the agreed recommendation. He noted that the victim’s family who addressed the court clearly were angry, but said they did not ask him to impose the maximum 7-year term.

“I simply can’t fathom how angry the parents are at you,” said Ekstrom. “I am continually amazed that people — in the face of this level of betrayal of their trust and intrusion in their ability to try to raise their kids, in a world that’s difficult as it is — can come in here and say these things. I stand in awe of their ability to do that.”

Findlay previously pleaded guilty in one case to communication with a minor for immoral purposes and second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The second case was for third-degree child rape, commercial sex abuse of a minor and two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

Findlay kept it short when he spoke in court, saying he is “sorry for the families I hurt” and that he hopes to better himself while locked up.

According to court documents, Findlay befriended one young teen boy a few years ago and communicated with him through Facebook Messenger and text messages. He also gave the boy car rides and provided him with alcohol and marijuana.

That boy said he was raped by Findlay while in a car near a Richland park. He told Findlay to stop, and he eventually did, documents said.

Findlay met an older teen through that boy, and started sending similar explicit messages to him in 2017.

The older teen reported that Findlay offered $50 to the boy to see him naked, court documents said. Findlay also supplied him with alcohol and marijuana if the teen spent time with him.

Findlay admitted to Richland detectives that he raped the younger teen.

It was in December 2017 that he struck up Messenger conversations with a third teen he knew, telling the boy he was “sexy” and “hot” and asking for naked photos, documents said.

Findlay persuaded the young teen to leave his house in the middle of the night in exchange for marijuana.

It was when the boy’s mother discovered those messages that police were alerted.

Investigators found at least two dozen child pornography images on Findlay’s cellphone.

Defense attorney Caleb DiPeso said that by accepting responsibility, his client spared the victims from having to go through a difficult trial.

He also said he hopes the guilty plea has given the victims and their families some closure.