SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — A Spokane man has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for repeatedly sexually abusing a child.
According to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office, 29-year-old CJ Hart plead guilty to three counts of child molestation and one count of viewing of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct in May. He was sentenced to 116 months in prison on July 23.
According to court documents, the 13-year-old victim used to visit her grandmother’s house in North Central Spokane in 2022. Hart, who was 25 at the time, also lived at the house.
Court documents say Hart forcibly molested the victim, despite the victim’s protests. The sexual abuse continued during each weekend she stayed with her grandmother.
Hart then told the victim not to tell anyone, but the victim eventually disclosed the abuse to a counselor.
The Prosecutor’s Office says Hart was removed from the home and a police investigation began. Before he was arrested, Hart contacted and threatened the victim multiple times, demanding sexually explicit pictures from her.
At the sentencing hearing, the victim and other family members wanted the court to sentence Hart to a maximum sentence for these crimes.
The Spokane County Superior Court judge imposed 116 months for each child molestation charge and 84 months for the other count, which will be served concurrently.
Hart will also be ordered to serve four months in community custody, to have no contact with the victim for 10 years and to register as a sex offender.
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