Former Vancouver man sentenced to 6.5 years for rape

A former Vancouver man who was convicted by a Clark County jury in a 2014 rape case was sentenced Wednesday to 6.5 years in prison. The man’s attorney argued for a sentence lower than the standard range, adding that he had failed his client at trial.

David Devon Jackson, 27, of Portland was found guilty in December of second-degree rape, though he initially faced three counts of first-degree rape, another count of second-degree rape and one count of first-degree kidnapping with sexual motivation. The jury acquitted him of those charges.

Jackson was accused of kidnapping an 18-year-old Tacoma woman on Aug. 20, 2014, driving her down Interstate 5 to Vancouver and raping her three times along the way, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in Superior Court. The jury found there was only enough evidence of one rape.

Jackson and the victim — who testified she was working as a prostitute at the time — had never met in person before the incident but had connected on a social media website, the affidavit said.

The victim was not present at sentencing and did not submit a statement in writing, which Jackson’s defense attorney Steve Rucker argued shows how little of an impact the incident had on her.

Jackson told the court he feels remorseful about the entire situation, but didn’t admit guilt.

Judge Scott Collier told the attorneys he disagreed with some arguments, particularly Rucker’s statement that he had failed Jackson at trial. However, he said he didn’t think the case met the requirements for Jackson to be sentenced outside of the standard sentencing range — 78 to 102 months.

Collier also disagreed with the prosecution’s request to sentence Jackson to the high end of the range. He instead settled on 78 months.