Washington man gets minimum of 10 years for child rape

EPHRATA, Wash. -- A Moses Lake man has been sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison for first-degree child rape and molestation.

The Columbia Basin Herald reports 58-year-old Isabel Rocha Jr. was sentenced Wednesday in Grant County Superior Court.

Court documents say in 2018, Rocha inappropriately touched a 7-year-old girl, who was among a group of neighborhood kids that frequently played in Rocha's backyard and home. The victim's mother reported to an investigator that the kids referred to Rocha as "grandpa."

Documents say Rocha also was accused of molesting another neighborhood girl but only pleaded guilty to charges related to the first girl as part of a plea deal.

In an interview conducted with the aid of a polygraph, Rocha admitted to sexual contact with minors throughout his adult life.