Clarkston man pleads guilty to child rape

Clarkston resident Richard L. Thueson pleaded guilty to indecent liberties and second-degree rape of a child in Asotin County Superior Court Friday morning.

Thueson, 60, admitted to having sexual contact with a 28-year-old developmentally disabled woman in 2008 and engaging in sexual intercourse with an 11-year-old developmentally disabled girl in 2010. Both were participants in a therapeutic horsemanship program he ran from his home on Florence Lane in the Clarkston Heights.

"What I did was take advantage of two young ladies who did not have the mental capacity to understand that what I did was wrong," Thueson wrote in a statement of guilt read aloud in court.

Two counts of indecent liberties, one count of first-degree child rape and four counts of second-degree child rape were dismissed by the state as part of a plea agreement. Due to Thueson's lack of prior felony convictions and a probable effect on a trail of witnesses, Columbia County Judge Scott Marinella signed the agreement.

Thueson faces a minimum sentence of 102 to 136 months, or eight years and six months to 11 years and four months, in prison. Several family members of the victims requested a tougher sentence.

"This plea agreement is not fair by any means, but wise for my child so we can continue to heal," said the mother of one victim. "My fear is that he won't get the impact. I know he's sorry, but all I see is the daily effects on my child."

Another victim's father said 10 years isn't enough for someone who took advantage of "the weakest of the weak."

Thueson will be sentenced on Jan. 12 at 9:30 a.m., after a presentencing investigation. He will be held without bond until sentencing.