MOSES LAKE — A Moses Lake man will be spending almost three years behind bars after admitting to having sex with a 13-year-old girl on several different occasions.

Raul Sanchez, 23, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree child rape. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Knodell followed a joint recommendation between Deputy Prosecutor Mark Laiminger and defense attorney Michael Morgan and sentenced Sanchez to 34 months of prison confinement. Sanchez was initially charged with two counts of second-degree rape of a child, but the charges were amended in a plea agreement between Laiminger and Morgan.

Sanchez’ sentence stems from an incident on June 26, when a man contacted the Moses Lake Police Department in reference to a runaway child. The man advised his 13-year-old daughter had left with a man, later identified as Sanchez, in the morning and did not return home. He claimed to have told Sanchez to stay away before and his daughter had previously come home with “hickies,” according to police.

The man also claimed Sanchez had entered his residence by sneaking through a window. Through a description of Sanchez’ vehicle given to police, officers were able to locate Sanchez at an apartment in the 1600 block of West Lee Street. Upon being questioned, Sanchez initially denied sneaking into the victim’s residence.

“I bluffed Raul by telling him the manager at (the victim’s) apartment complex had installed hidden cameras and I had video footage where I could clearly see his face as he jumped into (the victim’s) room from the window. I ask Raul if he still wanted to lie to me,” wrote the officer. “ Raul said ‘OK I have a few times.’”

“I told Raul I wanted him to know that I was very familiar with Hispanic culture and I understood that in some Hispanic countries it wasn’t unheard of to date someone younger.”

Sanchez went on to admit that he had been dating the 13-year-old victim for about three months and they had sexual intercourse on several different occasions. A search of Sanchez’s phone turned up several pictures of the victim, including one picture in which she was seen with what appeared to be medication. Sanchez advised he asked the girl to take birth control pills, which is what he claimed was in the photograph.

The victim was later interviewed by police and gave a statement that was similar to Sanchez’s. She claimed she was the one who first brought up having sex, but Sanchez did not initially follow through because he didn’t want to get into trouble.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabaisnherald.com.