Man pleads guilty to two Class A felonies
40-year-old to transfer from local jail to prison in about a month
OLIVER MCKENNA | THE DAILY EVERGREEN
“This is a crime of intimidation … this is the crime of scaring people when they’re at their most vulnerable,” said Dan LeBeau, Whitman County chief deputy prosecutor.
July 3, 2019
A 40-year old man was convicted of two Class A felonies on June 28 after taking a plea agreement on April 19. Jose Luis Perez-Morales was charged with second-degree rape and first-degree child molestation and will serve 136 months to life.
Dan LeBeau, Whitman County Chief Deputy Prosecutor, said Perez-Morales has been in the Whitman County Jail since he was arrested in February 2019 for multiple sex offenses which occurred from 2011 to 2013. The victim was 11 years old when the offenses began.
“It is not uncommon for child victims to come forward later when they’re older,” LeBeau said.
LeBeau said Perez-Morales will be transferred to prison by the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) in about a month.
After Perez-Morales pleaded guilty, sentencing was postponed for a month while the Washington State DOC underwent a pre-sentencing investigation which occurs for all sex offenses, LeBeau said.
He said the investigation included the Washington State DOC interviewing Perez-Morales, the victim and all reports related to the case.
As part of the plea deal, LeBeau said Perez-Morales will be registered as a sex offender and will have a no-contact order with the victim. In exchange for pleading guilty to the two Class A felonies, other charges including second-degree rape of a child and third-degree rape of a child were dropped.
After serving his full sentence, Perez-Morales has the possibility of parole with lifetime supervision under the Washington State DOC.
Perez-Morales was also denied a Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative (SSOSA) which included serving one year in jail followed by a three-year long intensive treatment program.
Perez-Morales has a minimum of 132 months left to serve.
Tim Haight • Jul 12, 2019 at 4:30 pm
As Dana states, her husband got a long sentence for a non violent drug offense. Jose Luis Perez-Morales has 11 years to serve on his sentence.
What will likely happen is he will do about half of his time, and have to register. So they will let a dangerous sex offender out to re offend.
He should go to McNeil Island after his sentence and take steps to prevent him from reoffending. There is no rehabilitation for these sickos.
Dana Dahl • Jul 8, 2019 at 6:57 am
My husband got convicted of a non violent drug crime and received YEARS more than this child predator sex offender. There is something wrong with a system that punishes those with no history of violence for crimes where the only victim is the offender him or herself. Drug addicts need treatment not prison time. And if anyone thinks that while in prison, an offender will get the rehabilitation that they deserve for an addiction, they are sorely mistaken. There is no rehabilitation going on in state and federal prisons in this country. It is set up in such a way that it creates a perpetual cycle of re-incarceration after release because if they don’t keep the prisons full, the money won’t continue to roll in and line the pockets of those who administer the system. The justice system in this country makes me literally sick to my stomach. We don’t have justice. It’s a joke.