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A 29-year-old Fallon man was sentenced Tuesday in District Court up 40 years in prison for molesting a child.
David McClain did not speak in defense of his actions stemming from an incident on Nov. 3, 2012. Judge Robert Estes levied the sentence and said McClain appeared to receive a “substantial break” from the Churchill County District Attorney’s Office.
Nevertheless, Estes told McClain he failed to protect the children and attempted to give himself more credence as a victim than the two children. McClain pleaded guilty in February to two counts of attempting to commit lewdness with a child under 14.
Tearful testimony from the victim’s mother opened the hearing as she recounted the event and the days since. She said her daughters are receiving help, and the youngest child may have to spend at least three more years in therapy.
“My girls have been through the ringer,” she said. “It takes a lot to get them by, day-by-day. They ask why (it happened), and we don’t know. A crime like that shouldn’t be let go. Every day is a battle and that’s no lie.”
According to Senior Deputy DA Ben Shawcroft, McClain sexually assaulted one child as another witnessed the act. Shawcroft said McClain finally admitted to the crime and showed some remorse, but that does not begin to cover the damage inflicted on the children.
“He was supposed to be a protector,” Shawcroft said. “He threw it all away.”
Troy Jordan, McClain’s attorney, attempted to lessen the sentence by showing his client’s positive side. Jordan said McClain had been consistently employed, did not have a prior criminal history and was a low to moderate risk to re-offend, according to the psychosexual evaluation.
Jordan also asked Estes to consider McClain’s childhood of a broken home and drinking problem into account. The public defender also asked Estes to read two letters of support for McClain and said his client can be a productive member of society.
Jordan asked for a sentence of 10 to 25 years for both counts.
“All we ask is that you don’t send him away forever,” he added. “We are here to ask for leniency.”
According to the criminal complaint, McClain sexually assaulted the girl between September and November 2012. Another girl walked in on one of McClain’s assaults and reported the crime, according to Shawcroft.
McClain was arrested in Las Vegas, extradited to Fallon and booked into the Churchill County Jail on Dec. 6, 2012, on $600,000 bond. He was originally charged with four counts of sexual assault with a child under 14, each carrying a possible life sentence. With the plea agreement and sentencing guidelines for the new charges, McClain avoided a life sentence.
A warrant was issued on Nov. 16, 2012, and authorities from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department located and arrested McClain on Nov. 20, according to court documents. After an extradition hearing in Las Vegas, McClain was transported to Fallon.
He was suspected of having sex with the alleged victim at least four times.
McClain’s brother, James David McClain, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences with the possibility of parole after 35 years last year on two counts of sexual assault of a child under 14.