Registered sex offender found guilty of Richland child rape, molestation
A registered sex offender is heading to prison after a jury found he raped a girl in Richland.
Kyle F. Vela, 33, was convicted of first-degree child rape and first-degree child molestation following a Benton County Superior Court trial last week.
They also found he violated a position of trust, which could add time to his sentence.
His sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 8. He faces an indeterminate sentence, which means he would serve a minimum of 20 to 26 1/2 years.
Once he’s finished that minimum term, a Washington state board will decide when he can be released. If it decides not to release him, he could serve up to life in prison.
Vela was a registered sex offender following his conviction in May 2017 for having child pornography, according to court documents. He was sentenced at that time to three years in prison.
Then in 2022, he was living in a Richland hotel when the victim’s mother stayed with him between July and September, according to court documents.
Court documents don’t say whether the woman was aware of Vela’s criminal history.
The girl told investigators that he touched her inappropriately while her mother was taking a shower. He also molested her when her mother left for work, said investigators.
Vela and other family members have said he wasn’t guilty of the crime.
After he was arrested in November 2022, Vela tried to die by suicide by running run into a wall in the Benton County jail, court documents said. He had to be flown to Harborview Medical Center for treatment.
This story was originally published January 17, 2024 at 5:00 AM.