In his 15 years prosecuting child sex abuse crimes, Assistant U.S. Attorney David Herzog has never requested a life sentence in prison for a defendant. Until Thursday.
Herzog requested that Judge Thomas O. Rice "remove from society" a man who planned to travel 1,400 miles from his home in Phoenix to kidnap, rape and traffic a 12-year-old girl from Spokane County who he had been communicating with online in 2021.
Judge Rice sentenced Miguel A. Mondaca, 24, to 30 years in prison on Thursday morning.
A jury convicted Mondaca of attempted child sex trafficking, attempted online enticement, production of child pornography and receipt of child pornography on Oct. 13 .
"As a parent myself, the conduct for which Mr. Mondaca was convicted and sentenced today was chilling," U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref said. "We felt asking for a significant sentence was appropriate and 30 years is an appropriate sentence."
In addition to trafficking the girl through "customers," Mandaca also planned to simulate a drowning of the girl and force her to wear a dog collar during sex. He also required her to record photos and videos of herself which he then saved to his electronic devices that he planned to advertise online.
Mondaca made plans to travel to Spokane in 2021, going so far as to send a photo of a plane ticket he purchased to the girl and announcing his travel plans on social media, according to court documents. After obtaining the girl's address, Mondaca had a plan to hide in her home before kidnapping her.
Mondaca was arrested after the girl's parents saw the messages sent to their daughter and alerted authorities.
The child pornography discovered at Mondaca's home address after his arrest depicted hundreds of other minors, as young as toddlers, court documents said. His collection "likely accrued over a long period of time before this case," Herzog wrote in a sentencing memorandum.
Mondaca's defense attorney, Corwin A. Townsend, asked for a 15-year sentence, arguing that his client never intended to act on his plans to travel to Spokane.
"Even if the court were to give him the minimum of 15 years, that is a harsh sentence, considering his age and criminal history," Townsend said of his client, who does not have a criminal record. "I think he is redeemable. He needs an intervention. This process is the start of that."
In a statement to the court, Mondaca, dressed in a yellow Spokane County Jail inmate uniform, said that he wanted to get caught.
"I hate the person I was," Mondaca said in between long and uneven pauses he made to the courtroom. "I was a fool for trying to satisfy terrible things, but I didn't have the heart to get someone else and hurt them. I don't understand why that is inside of me. I hate it."
However, Herzog refuted Mondaca's statement on Thursday after the sentencing.
"He only got partway through his plans," he said. "There is no evidence anywhere that he withdrew from his plans."
Mondaca's statement marked the first time he has expressed any regret for his actions, Herzog said.
"Everyone has a right to go to trial, but the trial in this instance puts the entire family and the victim through reliving these egregious acts," Waldref added.
That harm will stay with the girl forever, she said.
"He has a constitutional right to proceed to a trial. Absolutely," Herzog said. "Also, 12 people from this community looked at the evidence and said that conduct is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In our view the system worked."
Mondaca said that his experience in jail and on suicide watch has given him a new spiritual outlook on life.
"The journey of this is good for me," he said. "I'm going to die and eternity will be next. I put my hope there. I'm sorry I wasn't the person I was supposed to be."
Mondaca's mother burst into tears outside of the courtroom after the sentencing was over.
In addition to 30 years in prison, Mondaca was sentenced to lifetime supervision after his release. He is also required to pay $30,000 in victim restitution.
"It's a significant sentence and it's a needed sentence to protect the public because children here in the eastern district and everywhere deserve to live in a world where they are safe from sexual predators and safe from the type of conduct committed here," Waldref said. "We see it as an obligation to he community to protect the most vulnerable members of our community, the children."
