Tri-Cities man fled to Panama to avoid child rape trial. Now, he’s headed to prison

A 50-year-old Tri-Cities man claims a child rapist is walking free while he’s the one being sent to prison for 23 years.

Clay V. Haynes says he’s innocent and that’s the main reason his case took more than four years — while he stood up for his rights.

“How can I have remorse when I didn’t do anything to a child?” asked Haynes. “I don’t have no remorse because it didn’t happen. And I don’t mean to be mean, I don’t mean to punish anybody.”

But a Superior Court judge told Haynes that a jury thought otherwise when it decided the case on its merits and returned guilty verdicts against him for four felony sex crimes.

Spokane County Judge Annette S. Plese said Haynes deserves to spend at least 23 years and four months behind bars for raping two young girls over a six-year period.

Still, Plese — who presided over the Benton County case because of a conflict with Tri-Cities judges — rejected the prosecutor’s recommended exceptional sentence of 30 years.

The judge noted that Haynes’ ultimate release will be up to a state board, which will look at his behavior and sex offender treatment while he’s locked up.

The Indeterminate Sentence Review Board “could keep you indefinitely,” Plese said during the sentencing hearing on Friday.

Convicted of sex crimes

Haynes’ convictions from a November trial include two counts of second-degree child rape and one count of third-degree child rape.

He was acquitted of first-degree child molestation and another count of third-degree child rape in an earlier trial.

The Kennewick man was charged in late 2017 after the girls disclosed to a friend they had been physically and sexually abused by Haynes and they sought counseling.

The girls told Benton County sheriff’s detectives that the abuse escalated over the years, and said Haynes would be in a bad mood and take it out on others if they didn’t do what he wanted, according to court documents.

Detectives tried to talk with Haynes but were told the electrician had gone to California for work. Then they got word he was in Colorado.

A search of his rural Kennewick home reportedly turned up items that the girls said were used to abuse them.

Haynes tried to avoid trial by going to Panama but was refused entry by the Central American country.

He was captured by the U.S. Marshals Service and, after spending several months in jails in Florida, was returned to Washington.

Denied dismissal

Haynes represented himself at the trial with a court-appointed attorney to help as needed.

He tried to get the case dismissed at his sentencing hearing by saying it was a “manifest injustice” with an overzealous prosecutor, and argued for a much shorter prison term.

“Is the court aware ... that a defendant could literally shoot somebody and get caught and admit it, and get less time than a guy convicted by hearsay with no victim? asked Haynes, interrupting the judge. “It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra said they weren’t in court because Haynes abused just one person, but two, and that makes him more of a risk and more dangerous.

“He committed crimes against two females,” she said. “They remember the abuse they suffered, what he did to their bodies, what objects he used.”

Petra pointed out that Haynes manipulated the girls for years, and has been manipulating the justice system, which re-victimized the girls and caused more trauma every time the case was delayed.

They opted not to speak at sentencing, but two family friends told the judge they endured years of sexual, physical, mental, verbal and psychological abuse by Haynes.

And Haynes “has yet to be a man and stand up and take responsibility,” said one friend. “These girls are my heroes. .... I am so proud of these young ladies, at not only how they stood up but continued on with their lives. They made amazing lives for themselves.”

“The defendant didn’t win, as he assured them that he always would,” she added. “Finally, after long years of torture, judgment day is here. His manipulative bullying didn’t break us.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2022 at 12:58 PM.