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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Sex offender gets 25-year prison terms


Daniel Dixon talks with his attorney Wednesday at the Kootenai County Courthouse. 
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Taryn Brodwater Staff writer

Daniel Lee Dixon maintained his innocence Wednesday as a judge gave him two 25-year prison sentences for the June 2005 kidnapping and sexual assault of a 12-year-old in Coeur d’Alene’s City Park.

Dixon, 24, told 1st District Judge Fred Gibler that he was still in shock that a jury had convicted him of the crimes.

“Unlike most men in jail, I am innocent of these two charges,” Dixon said. “God knows the truth, and eternally that will set me free.”

The courtroom was packed with Dixon’s family and friends. Three members of the clergy testified on his behalf, saying they met and got to know Dixon at New Life Community Church in Rathdrum.

“The picture that’s been painted of Dan is not the Dan I know,” said Mark Moder, a former youth minister at the church. “I would trust him with my life, my kids.”

On April 6, a Kootenai County jury found Dixon guilty of taking the girl away from her family as she played in the fountain at Independence Point. He picked her up and carried her to the nearby steps leading to the water, where he held her on his lap and molested her.

She screamed for help and ran. Witnesses testified Dixon continued through the park and approached a group of young girls before police arrived.

The victim’s mother said Wednesday her family is incredulous that Dixon still says he is innocent.

“Thank God, thank goodness that jury saw right through you,” she said. “It must be hard to face the fact you are disturbed.”

She said her daughter has nightmares, her grades have slipped and that the family can no longer go to City Park, where they used to picnic and swim.

But Moder, the youth minister, said he was shocked by the jury’s verdict.

Several of Dixon’s supporters – many who knew him from New Life Community Church and Real Life Ministries, a Post Falls church – sent letters to the judge. One said Dixon had been “falsely charged.”

Though several acknowledged Dixon’s addiction to drugs and alcohol, they said the crime he was convicted of didn’t fit their image of him: a young man involved in church activities and willing to help those in need.

Some in the courtroom appeared to be praying during the hearing. Dixon leaned back in his chair and rocked.

Deputy Prosecutor Marty Raap described Dixon as the “worst type of predatory sexual offenders.”

“He literally approached a stranger in the park in broad daylight,” Raap said.

During Dixon’s trial, a waitress from the Coeur d’Alene Brewing Company in downtown Coeur d’Alene said Dixon had been there drinking prior to the attack at City Park. As he left, Dixon said, “I’m gonna go get myself a 12-year-old,” the waitress testified.

Gibler said it was troubling that Dixon hadn’t admitted to the crime. Because of that, Gibler said Dixon is not a good candidate for treatment, or for probation as defense lawyer Douglas Phelps recommended.

Raap had asked for a life sentence because of the “brazen, predatory nature of the crime.”

Gibler said he wasn’t surprised by the jury’s verdict.

“I agree, having sat through the trial, that the evidence is overwhelming that Mr. Dixon is guilty of the crimes,” he said.

Phelps said his client had passed a polygraph, but Gibler said the case is an example of why polygraphs aren’t admissible in court.

Gibler ordered two 25-year terms for the charges of lewd conduct and kidnapping. He also sentenced Dixon to six months each for misdemeanor charges for kicking out the window of a police car and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Dixon will serve the terms concurrently and must serve at least 10 years before he is eligible for parole, Gibler said.

As Gibler handed down the sentence, Dixon looked toward his friends and family, tight-lipped, and nodded his head.

He turned and asked a chaplain who testified on his behalf, “Can you come see me?”