A Bellingham man will spend less than five years in prison for sexually exploiting an 8-year-old girl in 2018.
Daniel Jesus Llanos, 30, was sentenced Thursday, March 2, in Whatcom County Superior Court to three years in prison, with three years probation, for one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Llanos was previously charged with first-degree child rape, but his charges were amended down as part of an agreed plea deal, court records show.
He pleaded guilty to the amended charge Nov. 29, 2022, the records state. Llanos' standard sentencing range was between 2.5 years and 3.5 years.
As part of his sentencing, Llanos will be required to register as a sex offender. He also will not be allowed to have contact with any minors under age 18, will be required to complete a sexual deviancy evaluation and comply with treatment and not possess or access sexually explicit materials, according to court records.
A no-contact order was put in place between Llanos and the victim until 2033, the records show.
On July 12, 2018, Bellingham police responded to a home in the 800 block of West Bakerview Road for the report of a sexual assault.
Once there, a woman told officers that when she came home from work, her then 8-year-old daughter told her she needed to tell her something. The daughter then told her mother that when she and her then 9-year-old sister returned home from summer school, Llanos, who was known to the family, was also there.
Llanos, who was 25 at the time, ordered pizza for the children and all three were watching television. Llanos first asked the 9-year-old girl to come to a back room, but the girl didn't go. Llanos then asked the 8-year-old girl to come to the back room because he said he had something to tell her, according to court records.
Llanos then raped the then 8-year-old child, the records state. When he was done, he told the girl not to tell her sister or mother.
The girl later disclosed the information to her sister, who then helped the girl tell their mother about the assault, court records show.
During an interview with Bellingham police, Llanos admitted to sexually assaulting the girl, court records show.
Llanos has no previous felony history, according to court records.
