A Tri-Cities man could be in prison for life for raping a young girl. He is 23
A 23-year-old Kennewick man is going to prison for more years than he’s been alive for sexually abusing a young girl for a period over three years.
When the girl finally got up the courage to tell Danny J. Delgado that he shouldn’t be touching her, he replied with threats to kill her parents if she did not let him, according to court documents.
Then, once confronted by police, Delgado said the girl’s allegations and her parents’ claims that he had later confessed to them were all lies.
A Benton County Superior Court jury believed the girl after listening to her testimony during an October trial, and convicted Delgado of four felony sex crimes.
Delgado was sentenced last week to life in prison with a minimum term of 26 1/2 years.
He must serve that entire term before the state Indeterminate Sentence Review Board will consider his release, basing their decision on factors include Delgado’s behavior and sex offender treatment while behind bars.
Delgado did not have any felony history before he was convicted on two counts each of first-degree rape of a child and first-degree child molestation
One count each of the child rape and child molestation include the aggravating circumstance allegation that it involved a pattern of sexual abuse.
He will have to register as a sex offender and be on supervision for the rest of his life, and is prohibited from having any contact with minors, including the victim in this case.
The victim reportedly said she felt safe after Delgado was convicted by a jury.
However, Judge Jackie Shea Brown made note at sentencing of the impact Delgado’s actions had on the girl’s childhood and the ramifications his actions could have on her life as an adult, according to the prosecutor’s office.
“The Benton County Prosecutor’s Office is proud of the courage this minor victim had to testify in court in front of her abuser, a judge and a jury, and hopes this sentence will continue to make her feel safe,” the office posted on Facebook.
The sexual assault lasted until 2019.
The girl was at a well-child exam in early 2021 when she disclosed graphic details of the earlier abuse to her doctor.
The doctor then alerted Child Protective Services, which brought in police to investigate.
Kennewick police Detective Kirk Nebeker interviewed the girl’s parents, who said after learning of the abuse they confronted Delgado.
They ended all contact with Delgado after he confessed to the sexual abuse, but did not report it to police, court documents show.
The girl’s doctor — after her disclosure nearly two years later — told police that he believed the parents were just being protective of their daughter by keeping it private, documents said.
Delgado denied molesting and raping the girl, and told Nebeker that he never confessed to her parents about his actions.
