A 22-year-old Oak Harbor man was sentenced to a maximum of life in prison and a minimum of more than 11 years for calculatingly pursuing and having sex with two female children.

Gilbert Pena pleaded guilty on Halloween to one count of rape of a child in the second degree and one count of rape of a child in the third degree.

At the sentencing hearing Wednesday, Island County Deputy Prosecutor Eric Ohme said the agreed sentence served to protect the public and to protect the victims from further trauma and harm.

“The defendant’s a very dangerous individual,” Ohme said.

Pena met the 15-year-old victim online on the popular myspace Web site and from there proceeded to befriend her and her family. He lied to the family, Ohme said, to become closer to the girl and ultimately use her for sex.

“When the victim tried to distance herself from Mr. Pena, the defendant turned to threats of violence,” Ohme said.

In the case of the 12-year-old, Pena was living in the apartment upstairs from her and her mother. After gaining the mother’s trust and heaping praise and adulation on her daughter, a bond was forged between the defendant and the woman. Waiting upstairs, Pena would strike when the mother left the house.

“It was at those times that he came downstairs and he victimized her. She was 12 and the defendant was 22,” Ohme said.

Neither victim was present in court for the sentencing.

“In these two cases, testifying would have been extremely difficult, I believe, for both victims, particularly for the 12-year-old victim,” Ohme said. “For her to sit across the courtroom facing Mr. Pena and recount these events in minute detail would have been torturous for her. But she was willing to do so.”

Testimony was never required by either victim because of the plea agreement.

Ohme said the recommended sentence was agreed upon by all parties, including the victims, law enforcement and the defense. If Pena is ever released in the future, he will be on community custody for his entire life and registered as a sex offender.

“Before he is released, the Indeterminate Sentencing Review Board would have to review his case and if they found it was more likely than not that the defendant would commit another sex offense then he would not be released,” Ohme said.

The defendant would only be eligible for release after serving the minimum sentence of 136 months.

Defense attorney Paula Plumer said she agreed with the recommendation. She told the judge that Pena understood the lifetime repercussions of his crime. Should he ever be released from prison, limitations would be placed on his computer usage and residential restrictions would be imposed. He would also be required to undergo mental health and substance abuse treatment and submit to regular and random testing.

The defendant’s mother, brother, and stepfather were present for the sentencing. The stepfather, a policeman and former Island County Sheriff’s deputy, and the family have been actively helpful in trying to figure out what happened and discern what they can do for Pena, Plumer said.

“I know that’s going to be a valuable asset to my client for the rest of his life,” the attorney said.

Due to the nature of Pena’s offenses, the seven months spent in jail have taken their toll on the 22-year-old. Ironically, the prospect of being transferred to a prison appealed to the defendant.

“My client, while he was in jail here for seven months, I can tell you has really suffered the process of being here and with this offense, the status of a sex offense is very difficult,” Plumer said. “He looks forward to being able to go to prison where he can actually address these issues. I would submit to the court that it’s not possible to admit to being a perpetrator in this environment.

“I believe he has an ability to take responsibility that will be evolving when he’s actually in a safe place where he can do that. Physically a safe place. And that’s not the case here.”

Plumer added that Pena has expressed contrition for his responsibility in placing the victims and their families in a difficult situation. While incarcerated, he voluntarily initiated a chemical dependency evaluation and underwent a 12-step program.

In jail he has received psychiatric medications, but he only received them with his own initiation, the attorney explained.

“Again, that doesn’t address the underlying problem,” Plumer continued. “It’s a different type of problem and he needs all three of these types of treatment to be a successful and a safe person.”

Judge Alan Hancock said reading the pre-sentence investigation report by the Department of Corrections about Pena’s life and conduct in connection with the crimes was an “eye-opener.” The judge verbally reached out to the victims and their families, expressing sorrow at the unconscionable acts.

“Obviously these girls were horribly victimized,” he said. “Their innocence was taken from them. This is going to be a difficult for them to overcome what they have suffered. My heart goes out to them, the victims, to their mothers and members of their family, extended family, for what they’ve gone through.”

The files indicate that Pena’s life has been difficult. However, the judge said his past was no excuse for any criminal conduct, let alone criminal conduct involving the rape of children. He categorized the defendant’s actions as “predatory.”

“Mr. Pena’s response to that and other events of his life can only be characterized as sociopathic,” Hancock said. “He needs help in the form of treatment and counseling in prison. I’m glad to hear that he’s sought that out or will be seeking that out. I’m glad to hear that he has participated in the 12-step program for alcohol and presumably drug addiction. That’s a good sign for the future.”

The judge said the recommended sentence properly incorporated the policies of punishment, deterrence, rehabilitation, and restitution.

Pena’s offense was one strike in a “two strikes and you’re out” law associated with sex crimes, Hancock added.

Contrary to the defense attorney’s assertion that Pena grasps the seriousness of his offenses and the indelible pain inflicted, the judge inferred the defendant has a long road to accountability.

“He does not appear, at this point, to understand the enormity of his sex offenses and has not taken full responsibility for that, and I hope he will do that in due course,” Hancock said.

Pena chose not to address the court prior to sentencing. The defendant was stoic and appeared unnervingly unaffected after the judge issued his sentence.