BLAINE — The retrial of a child molester from Blaine ended in guilty verdicts on 10 counts of sex crimes against children and, for a second time, a life sentence.
The Bellingham Herald reports that a Superior Court judge ordered 50-year-old Frederick James Williams Jr. on Thursday to spend his life in prison without parole for raping and sexually abusing two girls who were younger than 14.
Williams was convicted on those charges in 2011, but last year, and appeals court overturned the case and sent it back for a new trial.
During the new trial, Williams started out representing himself and cross-examining witnesses but ended up turning the case over to standby counsel.
A jury deliberated for about five hours on Oct. 30 before finding Williams guilty as charged.
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