Richland sex offender will serve at least 14 years for molesting 2 children
A Richland sex offender will spend at least 14 years in prison after police discovered he molested two young children.
Investigators initially went to Donald York’s home in January 2021 after a tip that he was sharing child pornography online. After he was arrested, two children told their parents that he had been molesting them.
At the time York, 28, was already a registered sex offender, after he sexually abused two pets and was caught peeking into a woman’s window. Both of the crimes happened when he was a juvenile.
“We believe that the indeterminate sentence was made for Mr. York,” Deputy Prosecutor Laurel Holland said. “Mr. York has had multiple opportunities to receive treatment and to live a different life.”
The indeterminate sentence will mean that York will serve 14 years and six months in prison. Then a state board will determine if he can be released. He could possibly serve up to life in prison.
York was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree child molestation in May.
The convictions carried a minimum sentencing range between 12 years and five months and 16 years and six months in prison.
Holland and Defense Attorney Shelley Ajax asked Judge Jacqueline Stam to sentence York to the middle of that range as part of a negotiated plea agreement.
Holland said the agreement meant the two children wouldn’t have to testify at the trial, something their parents wanted to avoid.
Ajax said York wanted to work toward a resolution, and he has taken responsibility for his actions without causing any more damage to the children involved.
Stam followed the recommendation, saying she believes that the children are strong and will heal from this trauma.
“Mr. York has a substantial history. This hopefully will be the last time he will be in front of this court on these charges or ever,” she said.
Along with the prison term, Stam also ordered York have no contact with the children involved in the case.
Investigation
A tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children started the investigation into York. File hosting service Dropbox had submitted a tip about child pornography that had been uploaded to their service on Sept. 19, 2020.
In total, there were six videos and five images added to the account, according to court records.
Investigators tracked the internet address used to a Richland home where York lived. They served a search warrant on Jan. 11, 2021 and confiscated several electronic devices.
York denied putting the videos or images on the service, but police discovered a video on his phone, according to court records.
After he was arrested, the two children came forward and said York molested them.
At the time, York was listed as a Level 2 sex offender. Sex offenders are put into three categories based on their risk of committing another sex offense. Level 2 is the middle rank, meaning he presented a moderate risk of offending again.
He became a registered sex offender after two cases that happened when he was a juvenile. The first happened in 2008, when he sneaked into a yard in order to look through the window of an adult woman who was changing clothes, according to court records. The woman caught him looking in the window.
York had been previously ordered to stay away from the house.
He was convicted in Benton-Franklin Juvenile Court of voyeurism.
About a year later, it was discovered that he had sexually abused family pets over the course of five or six years, according to court records.
He was convicted in 2010 of first-degree animal cruelty.
This story was originally published July 15, 2022 at 12:33 PM.