An Indiana man extradited to Wiscasset in November 2014 for allegedly posing as a Maine high school student on Facebook and convincing a Lincoln County minor to send him sexually explicit photographs entered a guilty plea in Lincoln County Superior Court Thursday, Feb. 5.
Danny Wayne Douglas, 47, of Thorntown, Ind., was sentenced to five years with all but 60 days suspended and two years of probation. He was given credit for time served and will return to Indiana for his probation as soon as the necessary paperwork is processed.
Douglas’ probation conditions require him to register as a sex offender, prohibit him from having contact with girls under 16, using the Internet, or possessing pornography, and he must submit to random searches.
The sentence was a significant departure from the mandatory minimum required by Maine law for the sexual exploitation of a minor, a class B felony. According to Maine law, a sexual exploitation of a minor conviction requires a minimum sentence of five years, which the court cannot suspend unless it provides a detailed explanation in writing.
Walter McKee, Douglas’ attorney, argued the sentence was called for due to unique circumstances in the case. The district attorney’s office and the victim’s family agreed.
In April, the mother of a cognitively disabled 17-year-old contacted the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office after finding sexually explicit texts on her daughter’s phone. Her daughter thought she was texting a 17-year-old high school student in Maine she met online and was friends with on Facebook.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office Detective Scott Hayden discovered the man she had exchanged approximately 1,300 texts with was Douglas. According to Hayden’s affidavit, Douglas asked the minor to perform sexual acts.
An extradition warrant was issued in September. Douglas was brought to Two Bridges Regional Jail by the U.S. Marshal’s Office in November where he has been held without bail.
Superior Court Justice Daniel Billings signed the extradition warrant. Billings also imposed Douglas’ sentence on Feb. 5.
“What we initially saw was predatory behavior,” Assistant District Attorney Andrew Wright said of the prosecution’s support for the plea deal. “On its face, we saw someone with cognitive limitations being victimized by someone out of state and we were worried they would victimize someone else. Given the nature of the situation, we have to take into consideration some unusual facts.”
McKee said Douglas’ IQ is in the 53-57 range, some of the lowest numbers he’s ever seen. Douglas’ intellectual limitations prevented him from recognizing the girl he was texting had cognitive disabilities, McKee said.
The victim in the case was also on the cusp of turning 18 at the time of Douglas’ arrest, which would have removed the case from the criminal code altogether, McKee said.
The involvement and support of Douglas’ father was taken into consideration by the court as an indication that Douglas would be successful on probation. The court also took into consideration Douglas’ lack of intent to distribute the sexually explicit images obtained.
The victim’s parents were present in court and asked to address Douglas. “The law is outside of you, but there is something wrong inside of you,” the victim’s mother said to Douglas. “You acted like an animal. To you, my daughter was nothing more than a two-dimensional figure you used to satisfy your urges.”
“Your actions were evil, but you cannot hide from God,” the victim’s mother said. “He wants better for you and we want better for you. With God there’s always real hope. We chose to forgive you for your sins against our daughter.”
The victim’s parents presented a gift for Douglas – a Bible.
“God bless you with new understanding,” the victim’s mother said.
Douglas will be held at Two Bridges Regional Jail until his probation information is processed in Indiana.
