10 years after fleeing to Mexico to start a new life, Tri-Cities child rapist is sentenced
A 36-year-old child rapist who vanished from the Tri-Cities 10 years ago is now headed to prison for his abuse.
Alexander B. Callahan said Friday in Benton County County Superior Court that he thought he was making the right decision for his victim when he fled to Mexico and started a new life.
But Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra argued that his disappearance only added to the victim’s pain.
“When children are (young), there’s hope .... (that) children can move on,” Petra said. “Can you imagine what pain this child continued to suffer ... knowing that he was still out there.”
The victim’s mother said his disappearance left her daughter suffering for years with panic attacks and self-harm.
“She was officially diagnosed with PTSD, depression and anxiety disorder,” the woman said in a statement that Petra read in court. “She has been in and out of therapy ever since the disclosure. ... My daughter will likely spend the rest of her life learning to cope with the trauma she endured.”
Callahan apologized Friday for the abuse and for fleeing, and pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree rape of a child, first-degree child molestation and bail jumping. His attorney, Keith Hilde, said Callahan wanted to spare the victim from going through a trial.
On Friday, Callahan said he didn’t realize the damage he’d done until he heard the victim’s mother’s statement.
“I’m not asking for forgiveness. If you want to forgive me, you can, if that makes it easier for you,” Callahan said. “If you want to hate me, hate me. Do what you need to do to move past this,” he said.
“I’m not only sorry for what I’ve done, but I’m sorry for what ended up happening,” he said.
Prison term
Judge Diana Ruff sentenced Callahan to the maximum end of the range — 19 years and 8 months in prison.
Once he’s finished with that length of time, a state board will decide if or when he can be released. The board could make him prison for up to a life term because of the type of crime.
Ruff said no amount of time is going to heal what Callahan did and his victim and her family will live with the repercussions for the rest of their lives.
“No one will ever forget what you did. No one will ever forget how they felt for the 10 years when they didn’t know where you were,” Ruff said. “They didn’t even know if they would ever get today. And in some part, today probably doesn’t feel real because it’s been such a long time coming.”
Fled to Mexico
Prosecutors initially charged Callahan in 2014 after the young victim went to her mother and reported the rape, court documents said.
But on the day his trial was scheduled to start, Oct. 27, 2014, Callahan was expected to plead guilty. Instead, he vanished.
Court documents show he had borrowed his brother’s car, turned off his cellphone and drove away.
Callahan’ fled to Mexico but U.S. Marshals eventually found him. He had started a new life. He was married and had a career as an English and German language teacher when he was arrested and returned to the U.S.