Last Tuesday, James Ernest Guinn, Jr. of Evans Washington, pleaded guilty to one count of Rape of a Child in the First Degree. There had been other state charges against him related to child pornography, but they were dropped in our court because they are being pursued federally by the United States Attorney in Spokane.

Mr. Guinn’s plea leaves him exposed to a sentence of between 93 and 123 months on this single charge.  When a person pleads guilty or is found guilty on a charge of this type, there is an automatic delay for a presentence report.  This is prepared by the Department of Corrections and is prepared to help the court make the correct determination as to the sentence which should be imposed. The presentence report contains information about the defendant’s conduct, the factual circumstances of the crime, whether there are any other victims, the likelihood of the defendant to reoffend, and other factors.

Mr. Guinn has been in the Stevens County Jail since his arrest early last spring.   The case came to the attention of Law Enforcement through a child who told a parent about something that had happened on a visit to a friend’s house.  Alert and sensitive parents encouraged the child to talk with other adults, and soon this sad set of facts came to light.

It will be determined later whether or not the State sentence will be served concurrent with or consecutive to any federal sentence, if one is eventually imposed.

It is important to remember that although Mr. Guinn has pleaded guilty to one charge and is no longer presumed innocent of that charge, there are other charges against him of which he has not been determined to be guilty.   Under our law he is presumed innocent of those charges, and should be given the benefit of that presumption.

The evil of child sexual abuse can only be dealt with one person at a time, but by working together, to educate the public and support and assist the victims, we can find and deal with those persons who abuse children.