PORT ANGELES — Aaron M. Hahn faces 15 to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 2 for attempting to hire a hit man to kill a Sequim girl he was charged with sexually exploiting in 2008.
Hahn, 30, was found guilty of first-degree solicitation of murder in Clallam County Superior Court on Wednesday.
The Gresham, Ore., man was accused of attempting to hire a fellow Clallam County jail inmate to kill the girl while he was awaiting resolution of the sexual exploitation case.
Hahn faces a standard range of 15.6 years to 20.8 years in prison on the solicitation of murder charge.
On Dec. 2, he also will be sentenced for sexual exploitation of a minor. In July, he pled guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor as part of an agreement with prosecutors.
Nine other counts, including stalking and third-degree child rape involving an under-age girl, were dropped as part of the agreement.
Good teamwork and a preponderance of evidence put Hahn behind bars, Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly said.
Officials praised
Kelly on Friday praised the work of law enforcement officials, Clallam County jail staff and key witnesses in the trial.
“Sequim law enforcement did an outstanding job,” Kelly said, listing the investigators who put together what she described as “an extremely strong case.”
“There was a ton of evidence,” Kelly said.
“The evidence was, I think, overwhelming.”
The Sequim girl told Sequim Police in March 2008 that she had a relationship with Hahn that began online when she was 14.
The girls’ parents found out about the relationship when she was 15 and tried to cut it off, police say.
The girl told police that Hahn would scare her when she tried to end the relationship.
Hahn was served with a protection order in March 2008 before he was arrested in Castle Rock in southwest Washington state when police arranged a false meeting with the girl.
While he waited for his sexual exploitation of minor case to unfold in the Clallam County jail, Hahn allegedly tried to solicit a man to kill the girl.
The trial was delayed until a key witness, Norman Livengood, was located on a warrant on Oct. 1.
“Mr. Livengood testified very truthfully, honestly and for the right reasons,” Kelly said. “He didn’t get anything for testifying.”
Taped conversation
Livengood tape recorded a conversation he had with Hahn in the Clallam County jail.
“There were numerous recordings in that case,” Kelly said.
“The victim testified as well. It was clear to the jury that the defendant was obsessed with the victim and angry, and he acted on that.”
Kelly also credited Dennis Sanford, a media engineer at Peninsula College, who helped prosecutors assemble their case.
During the six-day trial, Hahn’s lawyer, Ralph Anderson, caught the flu.
The trial was postponed on Oct. 14 and resumed on Monday. The jury reached a verdict in less than three hours.
Kelly said it’s rare for everything to go so smoothly in a high-profile case.
“Everybody helped,” she said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
