N.C. man sentenced on Internet sex charges
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By Amanda Stewart
Published: March 13, 2008
A North Carolina man told a judge in Prince William Circuit Court on Thursday that the sexually explicit Internet chats he had with two people he thought were pre-teen boys were “fantasies” that he would never act on.
Donald Richard Hance, 59, of 5005 Cokesbury Road in Fuquay-Varina, N.C., was sentenced Thursday in Prince William Circuit Court to 12 years in prison with eight suspended for one count of distributing sexually explicit material and two counts of using the Internet to facilitate sexual acts involving children.
Hance pleaded guilty to those charges in November, according to court records.
The boys who Hance thought he was chatting with were actually two police officers from Dumfries and Staf-ford.
The officers posed as 12- and 13-year-old boys and chatted with Hance on computers in Stafford and Prince William counties over a three-month period in early 2000.
During the Internet chats, Hance detailed sexual acts he wanted the boys to preform with him, police said at the time.
During one chat, Hance sent a pornographic image of a 15- to 16-year-old boy to one of the police officers, police said.
Hance was also charged with 19 similar felony charges in Stafford County. He was sentenced to an additional four years in prison for those charges.
Hance’s defense attorney, Mark Murphy, submitted 26 letters from Hance’s family and friends attest-ing to his character.
Prince William Circuit Court Judge Rossie D. Alston said it was hard to reconcile the letters, which de-scribed Hance as “a caring and compassionate” and “well-respected” man with the Inter-net crimes he pleaded guilty to committing.
“Here’s this supposedly great guy, doing this terrible thing,“ Alston said.
Hance said he would never do the things he described in the Internet chats with minors.
“I would not and I have not met with anyone underage to do those things,“ Hance said. “I did get sucked in on the computer unfortunately. It was all fantasies and I’m very sorry.“
Hance said that the Internet chats didn’t seem real.
“It was like sitting in front of a TV screen,“ he said.
Staff writer Amanda Stewart can be reached at 703-878-8014.
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