黑料福利社

A Wapato man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison Monday for sending sexually explicit messages to teenage girls through a social media app.

Hugo Mendoza, 33, entered an Alford plea in March to six counts of communicating with minors for immoral purposes. In return for his plea, in which Mendoza maintains his innocence but admits there was sufficient evidence to convict him, prosecutors dropped two counts of providing marijuana to minors and one count each of child molestation and providing cocaine to a minor.

In return for the plea, prosecutors recommended a 42-month sentence, which was below the standard range of 51 to 60 months based on the offense at Mendoza鈥� lack of prior felony convictions.

In addition to the prison sentence, Yakima County Superior Court Judge Jeffery Swan ordered Mendoza to register as a sex offender. Under state law, Mendoza would have to register for 10 years, based on his crime.

Mendoza is barred from having any contact with the victims for the next five years.

He will get credit for any time served in the Yakima County jail while awaiting trial since his arrest in May 2023.

Yakima police began investigating Mendoza in February 2023 when the FBI relayed a tip from a boy who heard that Mendoza was sexually exploiting three girls and possibly raped one girl, according to a probable cause affidavit.

As the investigation continued, a detective identified six girls ranging in age from 13 to 16 who had communicated with Mendoza through Snapchat.

In the messages, Mendoza sent the girls sexually explicit pictures and videos of himself, and in some instances the girls sent him pictures of themselves in various states of undress and in sexual situations, the affidavit said.

Some of the girls said Mendoza gave or sold them drugs and offered them drugs in return for sexual activity, the affidavit said. One girl described having a sexual encounter with him in his car, the affidavit said.