York submits plea deal in rape case
Mar. 13—A man accused of sexually abusing his stepdaughters submitted an Alford Plea agreement just days before his trial was set to begin.
The trial of Daniel Paul York, 55, was supposed to begin Monday, but according to Commonwealth's Attorney David Dalton, a last-minute deal meant that the trial would not go on — thereby sparing the victims in the case from having to testify publicly in court.
An Alford Plea is one in which the defendant does not admit guilt, but acknowledges there is enough evidence that a jury could convict.
York's plea was for first-degree Rape, two counts of third-degree Rape, Complicity of Cultivation of Marijuana (Five or More Plants), Custodial Interference, and second-degree Unlawful Transaction with a Minor.
According to the deal, York will be sentenced to 25 years in prison with five years of conditional discharge upon his release, and will be on the Sex Offender Registry for the rest of his life.
His sentencing is scheduled for May 25. He remains in custody at the Pulaski County Detention Center.
Dalton expressed his gratitude to those who investigated this case. "I'm eternally grateful to the Kentucky State Police and DeAnna Worley and the team down at DCBS," Dalton said. "These are sad cases, but Pulaski County is lucky to have competent professionals like Detective Eric Moore and the social workers we have."
York's case has been going since 2018, when he was arrested on 25 counts, which included Rape, Incest, Sodomy and Kidnapping.
Law enforcement began an abuse investigation and removed stepchildren from York's custody. Child Protective Services placed those children in foster care.
The then-15-year-old stepdaughter reportedly disappeared from her Monticello foster home in March 2018. She was found safe in May of that same year — in the presence of York — at a residence on Ky. 461.
The girl's sister, then 11, also reportedly told a therapist in March of that year that York had abused her multiple times in Somerset.
The family had moved to this area from Florida after the November 2016 disappearance of Rosselys Felix Hernandez, the children's mother and York's wife.
York has not officially been named as a person of interest in Hernandez's disappearance, and according to The Charley Project website, Hernandez is still missing.
Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com
