One day before his 18th birthday, a Kennewick teen pleaded guilty in juvenile court to raping a preschooler at his mother’s daycare.
Logan Santjer spent much of the past year facing charges in adult court after
he lured a young girl into a room in December 2017 and sexually assaulted her.
While he was 16 at the time, his case was automatically moved to adult court because of his age and the seriousness of the allegations. He faced a nearly eight-year prison sentence if convicted as an adult.
Santjer and his attorney wanted the case moved to juvenile court, and the victim’s parents agreed.
After an evaluation found Santer wasn’t likely to commit another sex crime if he received treatment, prosecutors agreed as well.
He pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree rape of a child in Benton-Franklin Juvenile Court.
He will serve seven to 10 months in a juvenile detention center.
Then, he will also spend two to three years on probation and need to register as a sex offender. He’s also required to get sex offender treatment.
Video surveillance showed Santjer beckon the girl to come into a playroom of Angie’s Kids Daycare, where he told her to close her eyes before he sexually assaulted her.