Joseph Guiliano, U.S. Border Patrol's former 2nd in command, gets four years in prison

A Whatcom County judge on Thursday rejected the recommendations of prosecutors and a defense attorney and sentenced the man who until recently had been second in command of the the U.S. Border Patrol's northwest region to four years in prison for child rape.

Joseph Guiliano, former deputy chief of the Border Patrol's Blaine sector and a 20-year veteran of the federal agency responsible for protecting U.S. borders, had pleaded guilty in April to three counts of third-degree child rape after admitting to having sex with a 14-year-old girl at least two dozen times between April and October of last year. The girl moved into Guiliano's Sudden Valley home, located near Lake Whatcom, early in 2008 after her parents reportedly had separated.

The girl now lives with her father, who, according to the Seattle Times, asked Superior Court Judge Charles Snyder to order Guiliano to the maximum sentence -- five years on each count -- during Thursday's sentencing hearing. A Class C felony, third-degree child rape carries maximum penalties of five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

Guiliano retired soon after his arrest in October of last year. At that time, he was responsible for the deployment and supervision of approximately 250 agents protecting the U.S. border in Alaska, Oregon and Western Washington. He earned about $130,000 a year, drove a government-owned SUV to and from work, and, as many islanders recall, was responsible for implementing the citizenship spot-checks at the Anacortes ferry terminal of passengers on domestic-only ferry runs originating in the San Juans.

As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors recommended that the 55-year-old former federal law enforcement official be sentenced to one year in jail, though on work release, and undergo three years of sexual deviancy treatment, but that he serve no prison time.

According to the Times, Snyder said he tried to strike a balance between the father's request and the sentence recommended by prosecutors.

At the hearing, Guiliano apologized to the girl and to his wife.

"I realize the damage I've done is far more than it seemed to be at the time," he said, according to the Times report. "I sorry. I'm so sorry. No one else is going to suffer at my hand."

Contact Islands Sounder Scott Rasmussen at srasmussen@sanjuanjournal.com or (360) 378-5696.

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