Two Snohomish County men will spend a combined total of 43 years in prison for sexually abusing children over long periods of time, judges decided Tuesday in separate cases.
Dwayne A. Stewart, 42, of Lynnwood pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree child rape. Superior Court Judge Kenneth Cowsert sentenced him to more than 23 years behind bars.
In an emotional hearing, Mike Anderson Nguyen, 50, of Everett was sentenced to 20 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of three counts of first-degree child molestation and two counts of first-degree child rape.
Stewart was accused of having sexual contact with a relative numerous times between 1996 and 2001. The case came to police attention in October when a girl and her mother were out shopping and they began to talk about life, according to court papers.
The victim was only 4 when the abuse began, deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said.
Nguyen, a Vietnamese refugee who served time in a North Vietnam prison camp for painting anti-government slogans, wept often as his wife and a son pleaded for leniency from Superior Court Judge Ellen Fair.
He was accused of abusing three young girls since 2000. A jury acquitted him on two additional sexual-abuse counts.
It was an unusual sentencing hearing in which no one showed up to speak on behalf of the victims, but nearly three dozen people filled the courtroom backing Nguyen. Many cried throughout.
Nguyen’s friend, Philip Dovinh of Mukilteo, told the judge that Nguyen is an extraordinary, hard-working man who went out of his way to help his friends, family and church members. He said the prosecutor and the jury were wrong.
“I’m begging you for leniency,” Dovinh told the judge.
Deputy prosecutor George Appel asked the judge for a sentence of more than 26 years, the high end of the sentencing range.
“I see no reason for leniency,” Appel said.
Fair gave him the low end of the sentencing range.
Public defender Neal Friedman cited several flaws he saw in the trial, and asked the judge to give Nguyen a new trial. She turned him down.
Afterward, Friedman said, “I believe they just sent an innocent man to prison for 20 years.”
Appel disagreed.
“The defendant was eminently guilty, and the jury saw it,” he said.
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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