Judge Daniel Stahnke, with a look of disgust on his face, told convicted child rapist Michael S. Hudson Jr. during sentencing Wednesday that he “can’t imagine a world that would be safe with you out in it.”
Stahnke then said neither sentence recommended by the prosecution and defense — 24 and 20 years in prison, respectively — was enough, calling the recommendations “woefully insufficient.” Instead, he opted to give Hudson an exceptional sentence of 30 years in prison.
In making his finding for the exceptional sentence, Stahnke cited multiple factors, among them, deliberate cruelty and abuse of trust.
Hudson, 32, of Battle Ground, sexually abused two children, whom he knew, and created child pornography with one of the victims, which he traded online, according to court records.
He pleaded guilty in October in Clark County Superior Court to five counts of first-degree rape of a child, four counts of first-degree sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of first-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Stahnke told Hudson the abuse he inflicted on his young victims “makes me ill, makes me sick to my stomach.”
In August 2017, investigators received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a Google email account that was used to send and view child pornography. During their investigation, police traced the account back to Hudson and discovered he uploaded and transferred as many as 100 child pornographic images. Some of the images he had created, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Investigators later learned of additional abuse of a second child, court records say. The abuse spanned from 2012 to August 2017.
The victims’ grandmother spoke during the hearing, at times sobbing, and told the judge Hudson should spend the rest of his life in prison.
“This man is a monster without remorse for what he’s put these children through,” she said.
Senior Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes told the judge that some of the images Hudson created have shown up more than 300 times on child pornography sites.
Stahnke said the case was arguably the worst he’s seen for abuse of trust, and asked if the child pornography can ever be “purged” from the internet.
He asked Hudson if he agrees that the child pornography re-victimizes the child. Hudson said he agreed, prompting Stahnke to ask him what his thought process was behind the act. Hudson, quietly responded, “I don’t know.”
Stahnke also voiced concern over Hudson coming to the attention of police in another child molestation case, yet still continuing and escalating his behavior.
Hudson came under investigation in 2014 during a separate investigation in Pierce County that linked him to a man who was molesting a child, according to a pre-sentence report. He was never charged in that case.
Before receiving his sentence, Hudson told Stahnke that he plans to take advantage of the programs in prison and hopes to become a better person.
In arguing for a 20-year sentence, Hudson’s defense attorney, Renee Alsept, pointed out that her client will be supervised by the Department of Corrections for the rest of his life, will be required to undergo polygraph tests and must register as a sex offender. Alsept said Hudson will never live as a “normal person” again.
She also referenced his six years of service in the U.S. Army, with two tours in Iraq, and said Hudson did not return the same person.
Alsept said at the conclusion of the hearing that Hudson plans to appeal his sentence.
