Chattaroy rapist substitutes treatment for prison

Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen “reluctantly” granted Chattaroy child-rapist John Lawrence Fitch an opportunity Wednesday to substitute sex-offender treatment for prison time.

“In my belief, you are an opportunistic predator,” Eitzen told Fitch, but she bowed to the unanimous recommendation of prosecution and defense attorneys, a state corrections officer and a psychologist.

Fitch pleaded guilty in August to two counts of third-degree child rape.

The judge agreed to sentence Fitch under the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative program for first offenders despite her belief that the program should be limited to cases of incest. That was the original intent of the law, and an amendment that takes effect in July will close the program to nonincest cases, Eitzen said.

Fitch is a 40-year-old volunteer firefighter and medical first responder for Fire District 4 in northern Spokane County. He forged a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old neighbor girl after treating her during a medical call, seducing her in subsequent visits that were not part of his fire district duties.

The girl told authorities Fitch had sex with her eight or nine times in a 10-day period last fall.

The fire district placed Fitch on administrative leave, relieving him of all duties when the criminal charges were filed in December. Now, the district will conduct a formal review that could lead to Fitch’s dismissal, Chief Ed Lewis said.

If district officials need to interview Fitch, they’ll find him at the Geiger Corrections Center. Eitzen rejected Assistant Public Defender Stephen Heintz’s argument that Fitch shouldn’t be sent to jail because he would lose his apartment and his job as a dishwasher at a diner.

Eitzen gave Fitch the maximum six-month jail term allowed under the Special Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, with credit for 53 days already served.

In addition, Eitzen rejected a joint recommendation by Heintz and Deputy Prosecutor John Love for a minimum-standard suspended prison term of 26 months. She imposed the maximum-standard 34 months.

If Fitch gets into any more trouble when he is released from Geiger or fails to complete sex-offender treatment successfully, he may be sent to prison for nearly three years. Among other things, he is required to have no contact with girls.

Fitch apologized for his crimes and said he was eager to start treatment.

“I can clearly see that I need to change my behavior,” he told Eitzen.