Former Thurston County middle school teacher gets 12 years to life for attempted rape of a child charge

Justin Daniel Hinchcliffe, the 47-year-old former teacher at Salish Middle School in Lacey, was sentenced to a total of 145.5 months to life in prison for second-degree attempted rape of a child in Lewis County Superior Court on Monday, Aug. 25.

Hinchcliffe has since filed a notice of appeal through his attorney, Don Blair. The case has been sent to the Washington state Court of Appeals Division II in Tacoma.

Hinchcliffe remains in custody. He had no criminal history prior to his Aug. 1 conviction, when he was found guilty by a jury for second-degree attempted rape of a child, communication with a minor for immoral purposes and attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

His sentence, issued by Judge Joely Yeager, includes lifetime community custody.

Hinchcliffe was first arrested in November 2022 as part of a multi-agency sting operation targeting individuals allegedly involved in sexual abuse of children. The operation, known as “Net Nanny,” was led by the Washington State Patrol’s Missing Exploited Children Task Force and included assistance from the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office, Lewis County Prosecutor’s Office, the state Department of Corrections (DOC) and other local police agencies such as the Chehalis Police Department.

Hinchcliffe was one of 12 individuals arrested and charged in Lewis County Superior Court.

According to the affidavit of probable cause filed by the prosecuting attorney, on Nov. 12, 2022, Hinchcliffe responded to an online advertisement placed by undercover law enforcement that listed various sexual services on a website used for prostitution and other sexual activity.

In his response to the advertisement, Hinchcliffe inquired about costs for sexually explicit acts.

“During the conversations, it was made clear the defendant was messaging a 13-year-old child with the intent of having sexual intercourse,” the affidavit stated.

According to court documents, a price and predetermined location were established for future sexual services and, over the course of the exchange with undercover law enforcement, Hinchcliffe indicated that he had brought condoms.
He arrived at the location and was soon taken into custody.

After being given his Miranda warning, Hinchcliffe allegedly said “he never intended to have sex with the 13-year-old minor female and was just trying to save her, but did not call the police to tell them,” according to court documents.
The former teacher was placed on administrative leave following the arrest. He resigned from the North Thurston School District in 2023.

A pre-sentence investigation conducted by the DOC noted “there is no physical victim in this case,” but found it “concerning that Hinchcliffe was a teacher for children with the same age range as the targeted victim.”