SPOKANE, Wash. — A Spokane County man with a history of sex crimes against children was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Thursday for molesting two young brothers while serving as their caretaker, according to the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office.
Ryan J. Herman, 32, received the maximum sentence in Spokane County Superior Court for three counts of first-degree child molestation involving victims who were 7 and 9-10 years old at the time of the abuse.
A jury found Herman guilty in November and determined he used his position of trust in the commission of the crimes, according to the prosecutor’s office.
Beginning in spring 2018, Herman molested the brothers on several occasions while watching them in his camper in the Medical Lake area, court documents show. Herman was a friend of the boys’ mother. The abuse came to light when the boys, now older, told a family member who reported it to law enforcement, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors argued Herman’s prior convictions for first-degree rape of a child and first-degree child molestation qualified him as a persistent offender under Washington state law. Defense attorneys requested a lesser sentence, citing Herman’s youth at the time of the offenses.
Superior Court Judge Annette Plese granted the state’s request and ordered Herman to have no contact with the boys for life and to register as a sex offender for life, according to the prosecutor’s office.
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