Man avoids mandatory 25-year term in plea deal for sexual abuse
By Griffin Beach on Wednesday, May 13th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – A 76-year-old man will serve the next decade in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
David Howard Young entered the pleas as part of an agreement with the state, admitting to sexual contact with a 6-year-old victim around Christmas 2025.
Young was sentenced to 75 months in prison on the first count, the mandatory minimum. He will serve an additional 45 months for the second count, bringing the total to 120 months. Thirty months of the second count will be served concurrently with the first.
In addition to the prison term, Young faces 10 years of post-prison supervision and must register as a sex offender for life.
As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped two counts of first-degree sodomy. Those charges would have carried a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years.
Young declined to make a statement before the judge handed down the sentence.
During the hearing, the victim’s mother addressed the court, calling her child a survivor of a man the family had once trusted. She thanked investigators for showing her child that justice is served when someone “speaks up about bad things.”
