Wenatchee Man Convicted of Child Molestation Will Receive Resentencing

A Wenatchee man convicted of molesting a nine-year-old child must face resentencing in Douglas County.

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The Washington Court of Appeals ruled a judge miscalculated 62-year-old Gilbert Garcia Jr's sentence. A jury found Garcia guilty of one count of child molestation, but not guilty of a second count, in 2023. This stems from a crime against a child in his household in 2018 and police arrested him in 2019.

Supperior Court judge Brian Huber sentenced Garcia to 68 months, but based the length on the charge Garcia is not guilty of.

The appeals court ruled this violates the doctrine excluding dismissed charges from consideration during sentencing.

"Garcia next argues he is entitled to be resentenced because the trial court violated the real facts doctrine when it partly based its maximum standard range sentence on count 1, the count of which he was acquitted. We agree," said Chief appellate Judge Robert Lawrence-Berrey in the decision. "Because the jury acquitted him of this charge, the trial court dismissed it. By considering this dismissed charge, the trial court violated the real facts doctrine. We remand for resentencing."

Garcia is still guilty of one count, but now faces a re-sentencing trial on a date to be determined.