Former Pasco pastor sentenced for attempted rape of a child

KENNEWICK, Wash. — A Washington father and former pastor entangled in a child sex sting has been sentenced to nearly five years in prison.

The Tri-City Herald reports 41-year-old John M. Scheline was ordered Wednesday to serve a mandatory minimum sentence of 58 months after pleading guilty this summer to attempted second-degree rape of a child.

The sex crime carries a mandatory maximum life term, meaning it will be up to a state review to decide how long Scheline will stay behind bars.

Scheline was one of the 26 men arrested in a 2017 online child sex sting in the Tri-Cities area that used ads on sites such as Craigslist and Backpage.com to identify would-be predators.

He previously worked at a Pasco church and a Montana Christian center.

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Associated Press