Lewis County, Wash. — Democratic State Senator Brian Hatfield's 14-year-old son Brady was sentenced on Tuesday for raping and molesting another juvenile in crimes that happened in Lewis and Pacific counties.
Instead of time behind bars, Judge Richard Brosey allowed Hatfield to enter an intensive two-year sex offender treatment program. Judge Brosey said, "It's designed specifically to identify what it is that led you to offending, to do something about it and make sure you don't relapse." The judge cautioned Hatfield to take the treatment seriously. "You can turn around and look at your dad is here, your stepmom is here and others all supporting you. If you blow this program and don't get anything out of it, you are not only hurting yourself, but you're letting each and every one one of them down."
According to court documents the victim's mother walked in on inappropriate contact between Brady and her child in February.
The court documents indicate the victim's mother told Senator Hatfield something inappropriate had happened, but the Senator never reported the incident to police. It was more than two months later the victim told someone at school about the crime and law enforcement was notified.
A Lewis County detective wrote in a report that the victim's mother at that time told authorities that Senator Hatfield had been attempting to enter his son Brady into therapy and would also be contacting authorities in Lewis County. The victim's mother, however, admitted no call to police had ever been made prior to the disclosure at the school.
After the sentencing Brady's defense attorney, Cristine Beckwith, told KIRO-7 the senator did not report the incident because he did not have enough specifics about what had happened. Beckwith said the senator had been told something inappropriate had taken place. "There's a knowledge of something inappropriate witnessed by somebody else. That was not specific and he (Senator Hatfield) did not personally witness that," said Beckwith.
KIRO
