Man sentenced to 10 years to life in prison

Dakota R. Hall, 24, was sentenced to 10 years to life in prison for lewd conduct with a child and a lifetime no-contact order with the victim.

Hall was sentenced Wednesday by 2nd District Judge Mark Monson at the Nez Perce County Courthouse. Hall pleaded guilty in November as part of a rule 11 plea agreement, which a judge has to follow or the defendant can revoke their guilty plea and go to trial. The agreement allowed for attorneys to argue for the length of sentence.

In addition to the prison term, Monson also ordered that a no-contact order between Hall and the victim be extended for life. Hall’s public defender Lawrence Moran told Monson that the order needed a date. Monson then issued the no contact order for 100 years and dated it to expire Jan. 15, 2125.

Hall was also given 177 days credit for time served and will pay court costs of $545.50, a $5,000 fine to the victim and $2,000 of restitution.

Nez Perce County Deputy Prosecutor Kali Jo Parker argued for a sentence of 15 years to life. Parker highlighted that the victim was 6 years old and Hall was a “trusted person.” The mother walked in on Hall engaging in a sexual act with the victim on a bed.

There was no victim statement made in court but the victim’s mother was present in the courtroom and provided a statement as part of the pre-sentencing investigation report.

Parker noted that Hall had previous criminal history that included a sexual battery in 2021 for exposing himself to a 14-year-old girl. He was currently on probation for that case, which was reduced to disturbing the peace. In 2023, he was charged with battery for kissing a 17-year-old without consent.

Parker said those incidents created a history of minimizing his involvement in those incidents, not showing remorse and not being compliant with probation. Hall was also a high risk to reoffend and had impulse control problems, an attitude that supports sex offending, socialization issues and no fear of consequences.

“All that together paints a clear picture that Dakota Hall, if he is allowed out, has a high risk to reoffend, as he did here,” Parker said. “A high risk to prey upon victims and hurt them forever.”

During his argument, Moran noted that it was a “troubling case for many reasons, not just the nature of conduct.” Moran said that he talked with Hall’s family member, who said that he had cognitive disabilities and was an “8-year-old in a 24-year-old’s body.” Moran said that doesn’t give an excuse for what Hall did, but he wanted that information for Monson’s decision and to explain the results of Hall’s evaluations.

Moran noted that probation wasn’t an option for Hall, but thought Hall would benefit from treatment in a structured environment. He asked for a sentence of 3-10 years and for retained jurisdiction for Hall to go on a rider program and get treatment. Moran said that if Monson wants to impose a prison sentence, he asked for one or two years with a longer indeterminate period.

“He is young. He does have difficulties in his life — warehousing him in the Department of Correction probably doesn’t serve his rehabilitation needs,” Moran said.

Monson asked if Hall wanted to make a statement and Hall chose not to.

In issuing his sentence, Monson said that he was going to impose a significant sentence and he wasn’t going to sentence him to probation or a rider program. Monson said that the rider program is often six months and then the person goes on probation, which Monson said wasn’t enough time for treatment.

Monson noted the victim impact statement — he said the victim will be forever changed, and the child has started acting out. Monson said Hall’s actions have also impacted the mother, who has to see her child struggle and who herself witnessed the crime.

“You were literally caught in the act of raping (the victim),” Monson said.

Monson said he couldn’t fathom what that was like for the mother. It also made the case different from others where the child reports an incident because there was “overwhelming evidence” of the crime.

Monson also cited information from the evaluations and reports that “don’t paint a positive outlook.” Monson didn’t think treatment would be effective and cited the risk to the community and the need for punishment for the crime as reasons for the prison sentence.

“You’re 24 years old, you committed a crime that will follow you for the rest of your life,” Monson said, including Hall having to register as a sex offender, “if at some point you get out.”

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.