Man convicted of killing 7-year-old girl gets new sentence

LONGVIEW, Wash. – A southwestern Washington state man convicted of killing a 7-year-old girl in 1994 will spend at least 23 more years in prison.

The Daily News reports 40-year-old Timothy Haag had served 23 years of his life sentence when a judge on Friday issued a new sentence of 46 years to life.

Authorities say the Longview man was 17 when he choked and drowned Rachel Dillard in a bathtub.

Haag was resentenced due to U.S. Supreme Court rulings that juvenile offenders cannot be given life sentences.

Prosecutors had requested a minimum sentence of 60 years to life, and Haag’s public defender asked for a minimum sentence of 25 years.

Judge Michael Evans told the courtroom that “Mr. Haag and his adolescent brain clearly had the ability to tell right from wrong.”