Child rapist gets maximum jail term

Donald William Wright told a judge Monday that his trial in late January and early February was a “comedy of errors” that put him in a bad light before a jury.

“I did not get a fair trial,” Wright told Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden.

The judge disagreed, and sentenced Wright, 46, of Arlington, to the maximum penalty under state sentencing guidelines – about 201/2 years behind bars for his conviction on three counts of child rape.

He was accused of conducting a sexual relationship with a now 17-year-old girl that started in 1992.

Deputy prosecutor Kathy Jo Kristof asked for the high end of the sentencing range, calling this “the most egregious case” she’s handled in 21/2 years in the prosecutor’s Special Assault Unit.

“He earned all 245 months of that sentence,” Kristof said.

Public defender Kathy Kyle said her client was falsely convicted, and that Wright has valid issues for his appeal. She asked for the low end of the sentencing range, about 15 years, saying even that would be a “tremendous injustice.”

The sentencing was preceded by Kyle’s motion for a delay, and Wright’s bid to get a new lawyer to represent him on a request for a new trial. He said Kyle could have called other witnesses to convince the jury that he didn’t commit the crimes.

Bowden said there are a lot of things people can think to do in hindsight, and from his perspective the defense was zealous and effective.

“The jury chose to believe the complaining witness,” Bowden said. “I didn’t disagree with that decision.”

Bowden said he didn’t “need to impose the maximum term, but I choose to do that” for the protection of the community.

He agreed the conduct was egregious, and noted that “clearly this is behavior that went on for a long period of time.”

Wright was convicted of one count of first-degree child rape and two counts of third-degree child rape. Jurors acquitted him of a fourth-degree assault charge against the same girl.