Couple sentenced for years-long abuse

RICHLAND — A Tri-Cities couple will spend decades in prison for sexually abusing a minor, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Washington.

Bret Michael Emineth, 41, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for engaging in years-long sexual abuse of a minor victim and recording images depicting the abuse, according to the statement. U.S. District Judge Mary Dimke also sentenced Emineth’s codefendant, Malesa Hale, 37, to 28 years for conspiring with Emineth to abuse the victim and record the abuse. Emineth, who began abusing the minor victim when the minor was only 12 years old, will also plead guilty to related charges in Benton County Superior Court.

“I simply cannot convey how horrendous this behavior is,” Dimke said from the bench, saying also that Emineth and Hale had inflicted “harm that will last for a lifetime.” Directly addressing the victim, Judge Dimke said: “You are brave. You are strong. You are courageous. You saved others from the hell that you were subjected to,” by reporting to law enforcement. Dimke added that if the victim had not come forward, there was no doubt that Emineth and Hale would have expanded their abuse to other children. 

According to court documents and proceedings, in June 2021 the victim reported to the Kennewick Police Department that Emineth had repeatedly sexually and physically abused the victim for approximately four years. The victim told detectives that the abuse had started with grooming and touching, and progressed to sexual intercourse. In 2019, Emineth’s then-girlfriend, Hale, became suspicious of Emineth’s relationship with the victim. When Hale confronted Emineth, he told her that he was abusing the victim. Instead of reporting the abuse to law enforcement, Hale expressed interest and joined Emineth in sexually abusing the victim. 

Kennewick Police Department detectives found explicit text messages between Emineth and Hale discussing their sexual abuse of the victim and their plans for future sexual abuse of the victim and other children, according to the statement. The messages also included photos of the victim being abused, many of which Emineth had taken at Hale’s direction and sent to Hale. KPD detectives then worked closely with Homeland Security Investigations and the Southeast Regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force to perform full forensic examinations of the defendant’s cell phones, which revealed the extent of Emineth and Hale’s abusive conduct. 

“Emineth and Hale’s child abuse was egregious, and today’s significant sentences recognize the horrors that the victim endured. But no sentence can return a child’s innocence,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Waldref wrote in the statement. “All children deserve to live free from those who seek to exploit them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prioritize offenses against our community’s youngest and most vulnerable victims. Today’s hearing sent one clear message to the victim, which is shared by each of the detectives, agents, and prosecutors who worked with you: we believe you.”