Local man sentenced to more than 5 1/2 years in prison for sexually abusing child

Sep. 3—A 35-year-old man will spend more than 5 1/2 years in prison for sexually assaulting a minor for three years.

Paul A. Sloniker pleaded guilty to first-degree child molestation in June in exchange for prosecutors dropping nine other child sex charges against him. Spokane County Superior Court Judge Annette Plese handed down the prison sentence Friday.

"This is a case with some of the most horrific facts that we have seen in a case like this," Spokane County deputy prosecutor Hannah Stearns said.

She said the degree of manipulation and grooming of the victim, a family member of Sloniker's, was "significant."

Sloniker was arrested in 2019 after a parent found explicit text messages from Sloniker to their son, according to court documents. Once the text messages were discovered, the boy broke down and told his parents that Sloniker had been assaulting him for the past three years, documents said.

Sloniker was originally charged with communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.

After further investigation, he was charged with three counts of child molestation, two counts of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, sexual exploitation of a minor, commercial sexual abuse of a minor, unlawful imprisonment and child rape.

Stearns said the plea agreement was a "huge departure" from the punishment he could have faced, which was decades in prison, if found guilty on all 10 charges. She said the victim did not want to testify at trial.

Melissa Haney, Sloniker's attorney, said this was a difficult case before choking back tears. She said the sexual abuse Sloniker endured as a child led to Sloniker abusing the victim in this case.

"It's hard to understand Mr. Sloniker and how he was brought up," Haney said. "I think (abuse) was normal."

Sloniker's brother, Kevin G. Sloniker, is serving a 35-year prison sentence in Idaho after he pleaded to molesting seven boys ages 8 to 14 for 10 years.

On Friday, Sloniker entered the courtroom in a wheelchair because of cerebral palsy and wore yellow Spokane County Jail clothes. He stood when he addressed Plese.

He said he wanted to make peace with the victim but cannot because of a no-contact order. Sloniker said he also wanted to make peace with the victim's mother and move on in life.

The standard sentencing range for Sloniker, who has no criminal history, was 41/4 years to more than 52/3 years.

Stearns asked Plese to impose the high end, or 52/3 years, of the sentencing range because of the seriousness, length and multiple types of abuse Sloniker inflicted on the child. Haney argued for the low end.

Plese ultimately chose the high end of the range because of the manipulation, prolonged abuse and grooming of the victim.

"You definitely need treatment to change your brain," Plese said.

If Sloniker does not change, Plese said she is concerned he will repeat the abuse.

Stearns said she had "significant concerns" about Sloniker reoffending.

The Washington State Department of Corrections said in a presentence investigation that Sloniker "presents a significant risk to the community" having sexually groomed and assaulted the child over the course of multiple years.

"A childhood victim of sexual abuse himself, it is clear that Mr. Sloniker failed to resolve his trauma and further perpetuated the abuse cycle upon (the victim) over the course of at least three years," the state agency said in the investigation.

Sloniker will be on community custody, or probation, for the rest of his life and will be required to register as a sex offender. He was given credit for time served in jail, which is a little more than two months.