This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
A former Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) soldier has been sentenced to prison for sexually abusing children.
Jonathan Gentry, 36, will spend 25 years behind bars for the sexual abuse of four young children who were left in his care, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington announced.
The four children disclosed “horrific sexual abuse,” the attorney’s office stated.
Gentry molested six children between January 2010 and February 2014.
In August 2013, he was prosecuted in military court for sexually molesting two 13-year-olds and was sentenced to two years in military prison.
“This defendant used threats of terrible harm to silence his victims,” Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller said, according to the news release. “These children showed great courage stepping forward to report sexual abuse that happened when they were as young as 3 years old. The children report being strangled or forced to drink alcohol so that Gentry could molest them. Such conduct must be punished by significant prison time.”
Sexual abuse occurred while Gentry lived on JBLM
In April 2020, two children disclosed sexual abuse that happened during the time Gentry lived on JBLM. One child was 10 or 11 years old, the other was between 5 and 9 years old.
“In both cases Gentry threatened to harm the children’s families if they did not submit to the abuse or told anyone about the abuse,” the attorney’s office stated.
The third child was between 3 and 5 years old and told a trusted adult about the abuse in April 2024. The fourth child was sexually abused in June 2013 and disclosed the abuse in March 2023.
In July, Gentry pleaded guilty to three counts of abusive sexual contact with a minor and one count of sexual abuse of a minor.
Three of the victims spoke in court about the impact of Gentry’s abuse.
“My innocence was taken, my childhood was taken,” one said.
“No amount of time he serves can compare to the loss of our childhood and the years that were stolen from us,” another told the court.
Prosecutors asked for a 30-year prison sentence.
Chief Judge Estudillo ordered Gentry to serve 20 years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
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