EVERETT — A Snohomish County Superior Court Judge sentenced a former Arlington horse ranch owner, accused of sexual abuse spanning over a decade, to over 15 years in prison Tuesday.
This comes after Robert Blessing, the owner of RWB Horse Ranch, pleaded guilty on Oct. 23 to three counts of felony child sex crimes — one for each victim who came forward in 2023. As with the plea hearing, members of the community wearing pink filled the courtroom, with some having to watch the proceeding from an overflow room Tuesday.
The 38-year-old would allegedly buy victims gifts, such as horses, and treat them poorly if they rejected his sexual advances, court documents said.
On Oct. 25, 2023, a girl disclosed to her school counselor that Blessing had been sexually abusing her, and, since she boarded her horse at his barn, she felt there was no way out. In a police interview, she alleged the abuse began when she was 14 and escalated to explicit messages and rape over several years, court documents said. She alleged that Blessing had exploited other girls while they were underage.
On Nov. 21, 2023, a second victim, who lived with Blessing and his wife for five years, told police the abuse began after Blessing bought her a horse as a birthday gift. When she told him the touching wasn’t welcome, he allegedly began to treat the victim poorly, court documents said.
On Dec. 4, 2023, a third victim told detectives the alleged abuse started when she was 13 years old and began working for the barn. Blessing, aware of her financial troubles, allegedly paid her for sexual photos and videos for three or four years with regular $400 to $600 payments each month, court documents said.
Multiple individuals told investigators that Blessing made sexual comments, touched them and sent inappropriate messages while they were under 18 during the investigation. In court documents, prosecutors wrote they could not file charges due to the statute of limitations.
Deputies arrested Blessing on Dec. 20, 2023, outside of his Arlington home on suspicion of 12 sex crimes.
On Jan 23, 2024, prosecutors initially charged Blessing in Snohomish County Superior Court with 10 felony sex crime counts, including sexual exploitation of a minor, third-degree rape of a child, third-degree child molestation, communication with a minor for immoral purposes, possession of child pornography, and promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor.
State business records show RWB Horse Ranch was dissolved in July 2023.
On Tuesday, Judge Patrick Moriarty heard three impact statements from victims and their families. As one victim, dressed in pink, finished reading the last statement, the courtroom applauded.
Julia Hartnell, the deputy prosecuting attorney, referred to the three victims represented in this case as heroes.
“They came forward to speak truth about a person who had tremendous power in their community, tremendous influence,” she said. “And they did that knowing the risk, knowing the fear. In listening to those statements, what struck me is the selflessness of these victims.”
The maximum sentence for his three counts is 10 years with a fine of up to $20,000 for two of the felony charges and life imprisonment with a fine of up to $50,000 for the more serious felony charge.
Based on the plea agreement, the prosecutor recommended 102 months in prison for each of the two felony charges and 189 months for the third felony charge, followed by 18 months of community custody on counts 1 and 2 and 36 months for count 3, court documents said. They also recommended a $500 victim penalty assessment, a $5,000 fee and restitution, if any.
The defense recommended 189 months in prison, followed by 36 months of community custody, court documents said.
Blessing’s counsel, Tim Lewis, began his address to the court by apologizing on behalf of his client to the victims, their families, the community members impacted by his behavior, his family and the individuals who wrote to the court in support of him. Blessing declined to make a statement before sentencing.
Before he announced his decision, Moriarty addressed Blessing.
“There’s no amount of incarceration that I could give to you that’s going to undo the harm that you’ve caused the victims in this case,” he said. “That’s just not going to happen. But they show strength. They show a great deal of strength, and I don’t think any amount of incarceration is going to necessarily bring peace to them. However, I do hope that these young women will find comfort in knowing that their bravery and their courage has prevented you from harming anyone else going forward in the future.”
Moriarty sentenced Blessing to 102 months each for the first two counts and 189 months for count 3 to be served concurrently with one another. Upon release, Moriarty sentenced Blessing to 18 months of community custody for the first two counts and 36 months for the third count. He also imposed the recommended fees and penalties. The court reserved restitution for 180 days from Tuesday.
Correction: a previous version of this story said Robert Blessing was sentenced to over 32 years. Blessing will serve his sentences concurrently for a total of over 15 years.
Jenna Millikan: 425-339-3035; jenna.millikan@heraldnet.com. X: @JennaMillikan
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