After being handed down a life sentence without parole Tuesday, a Brush Prairie man convicted of molesting a 5-year-old girl told the judge that he should have done things differently.
In a statement to the court, Nathaniel McCasland, 45, admitted his actions from the start of the case and hopes that one day he can make amends.
“I sincerely hope that I have not caused irreparable damage to (the victim),” he said.
McCasland, a registered sex offender, was convicted earlier this year by a Clark County Superior Court jury of first-degree child molestation-domestic violence after abusing a girl with whom he was acquainted. Jurors also found there was an aggravating circumstance: abuse of trust.
He already had the equivalent to a class A sex offense on his criminal history, Judge Bernard Veljacic determined Tuesday. And because of the Persistent Offender Accountability Act, McCasland’s latest conviction carried a mandatory life prison sentence.
McCasland was convicted in 1992 of two counts of first-degree sodomy in Oregon after pleading guilty to abusing a 12-year-old boy whom he knew.
He was 19 at the time of the conduct and used a different name.
While presenting their cases, both the prosecution and defense agreed that there was no legal comparability between McCasland’s Oregon convictions and that of a class A offense in Washington.
However, Deputy Prosecutor Kristine Foerster argued that the elements for those convictions and second-degree child rape in Washington are factually comparable; therefore, the convictions should be treated the same and count as a strike against McCasland.
Defense attorney Brian Walker disagreed. He said Oregon has sex abuse laws that are equivalent to Washington’s laws, but argued that McCasland was convicted of different crimes. Walker added that McCasland has never denied his conduct, but he does deny having intent.
Veljacic found that the Oregon convictions count as a class A offense in Washington and said the finding left him with no choice but to sentence McCasland to a life term.
