Man sentenced after faking death, fleeing to Idaho

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A computer engineer who faked his death and fled to Idaho to avoid child molestation charges was sentenced in federal court for triggering an unnecessary Coast Guard search and for identity theft.

Daniel James Farinholt, 46, was sentenced Monday to a year of prison for each of the two felony counts, to be served concurrently with a 10-year sentence he received last year for child molestation.

Farinholt’s case started in May 2002, when he abandoned his boat off the El Segundo coast after placing a distress call and staging a bloody crime scene. Authorities believed he was lost at sea, though two days of divers’ searches failed to turn up a body.

Eventually, officials realized Farinholt had missed his pretrial hearing on four felony counts of sexual assault on a child under 14. The hearing date, May 23, was the day after he went missing.

Farinholt was arrested in January 2005 in Boise, where he was living under the name Donald Dudley and working as a temporary employee for Hewlett-Packard Co.

He was apprehended when someone recognized Farinholt from a photograph on “America’s Most Wanted” Web site.

The Coast Guard said the bogus distress calls put rescue crews at risk and cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

“I understand the seriousness of the crimes, and the charges, and I plan to make full restitution as soon as I can,” said Farinholt, who pleaded guilty last month.

Farinholt will have to pay restitution of $29,419 to the Coast Guard and L.A. County Fire Department.