Judge sentences Moscow man on child rape charges

MOSCOW – After pleading guilty to raping a 16-year-old girl, a 58-year-old Moscow man encouraged the judge to give him a deferred sentence Monday, saying he’d “like to be a success story.”

“I’m not a bad person. I just made a bad choice,” Gregory Hanson said. “I’d like to pursue a nursing degree, and I can’t do that with a felony on my record.”

District Judge John Stegner noted that Hanson previously pleaded guilty to two felony counts of sexual battery of a minor age 16 or 17 as part of a plea agreement with the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office. If he now backs out of that agreement, the case would move to trial.

Hanson said he wasn’t interested in withdrawing his plea. The deferred sentence idea was “just a suggestion” he hoped the court would consider.

Stegner declined to go along, sentencing Hanson instead to two to 10 years in prison on each count.

Hanson was arrested last October after an incident at his residence in the 1900 block of East E Street. Court documents indicate a 16-year-old girl worked for him, helping with household chores. She told police Hanson offered her $50 and a cellphone if she’d have sex with him. When she declined, he forced himself on her.

The girl read a brief statement in court Monday, saying she’d known Hanson for years and thought of him as her uncle before he betrayed her trust. Since October, she said she’s struggled in school and been suicidal at times.

Hanson listened to her comments without visible reaction.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Mia Vowels said there was “ample evidence” that Hanson had committed a previous sex offense in the past, although he wasn’t convicted. Stegner agreed, based on a pre-sentence investigative report and confidential polygraph report.

“I can’t (rule) that he’s committed prior criminal offenses, but there is a strong suggestion that he is a multiple offender,” Stegner said.

In addition to prison time, Hanson will be required to register as a sex offender, pay a civil penalty to his victim and pay restitution for her medical costs.