PORT TOWNSEND — A Marysville man has been sentenced to more than 23 years in prison after he was convicted of second-degree rape following a 2019 incident that occurred on the day he was released from prison.
Rhyan Tyler Vasquez, 31, was sentenced on Friday by Jefferson County Superior Court Judge Brandon Mack to 280 months in prison following his conviction for second-degree rape with domestic violence and an aggravator for rapid recidivism.
“It took a tremendous amount of courage and fortitude to report this crime and then see it through to the end,” Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney James Kennedy stated in a press release. “I am glad the jury held the Defendant accountable and that the Judge issued a sentence that was commensurate with the gravity of the offense.
“This conviction reflects the tireless efforts of Deputy Prosecutor Holly Graham, whose meticulous preparation and compelling presentation of evidence ensured a just ending to this case.”
On July 7, 2019, Vasquez’s former girlfriend picked him up as he was released from Clallam Bay Corrections Center. The pair previously had a romantic relationship for about a year and a half, according to court records.
While traveling on U.S. Highway 101, Vasquez began drinking alcohol that he purchased with his release money, the prosecuting attorney’s office said. He then became aggressive when his former girlfriend attempted to pull over to let him out at a bus stop.
Vasquez grabbed the steering wheel and attempted to take the woman’s car keys. He also bit her thumb in an effort to take the keys and threw her phone into the woods, according to court records.
As the woman tried to escape with her dog, Vasquez pushed her into the passenger seat of her vehicle, restrained her, and he climbed into the driver’s seat. Soon afterward, he hit the woman in the face and repeatedly threatened to kill her and harm her new boyfriend, according to court records.
When they stopped at Triton Cove State Park, Vasquez sexually assaulted the woman in a park bathroom. Later, near Tacoma, Vasquez forced the woman into a portable bathroom and sexually assaulted her twice more despite her objections, according to court records.
Vasquez admitted to detectives that he hit his former girlfriend in the face and threw her phone, but he told the jury that the sexual encounters were consensual.
During the trial, Graham presented evidence that included a recorded call from Clallam Bay Corrections Center between Vasquez and his former girlfriend, plus cell phone records, photographs of the woman’s injuries, DNA evidence and Vasquez’s admissions of hitting her and biting her.
The woman also identified the bathroom at Triton Cove State Park as the location of one of the sexual assaults during a follow-up investigation conducted by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, according to court records.
At the sentencing hearing on Friday, Mack told Vasquez that a person cannot consent to sex after having been assaulted and threatened. The judge also noted that no sentence could repair the harm that had been done to the victim, the prosecuting attorney’s office said.
