24-Year-Old Man Sentenced for Kidnaping, Molesting Girl

An Oceanside man was sentenced to 17 years in prison Thursday for kidnaping and sexually molesting a 6-year-old girl.

Douglas Dannat, 24, had originally been charged with eight felonies ranging from kidnaping to failing to register with the Oceanside police as a sex offender in connection with a December, 1991, attack in which he snatched a Vista girl from her front yard and molested her while driving.

Instead, Dannat pleaded guilty to two counts related to the Dec. 15 attack, which ended after 20 minutes when Sheriff’s Deputy Nelson Prosper spotted Dannat’s car near the victim’s house.

Although the Probation Department recommended that Dannat receive the maximum sentence of 21 years in prison, Vista Superior Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan gave the high school dropout 17 years and recommended that he be housed “in a facility where he could receive treatment.”

In urging the judge to give Dannat the maximum term, Deputy Dist. Atty. Douglas Gregg conjured up images of Leticia Hernandez, a 7-year-old Oceanside girl slain after being abducted.

“It doesn’t take long to imagine what the young girl’s fate would have been had it not been for the actions of Deputy Prosper,” Gregg said. Dannat “presents a clear and present danger to any young child who comes out and walks our streets in the day.”

The victim’s mother said she has no mercy for “the criminal who has shown no remorse for (my daughter). Mr. Dannat has ripped her apart and stolen her innocence.”

Public defender Barbara McDonald, who sought the minimum term of 15 years, said Dannat’s learning disabilities and his own experience as a sexually molested 13-year-old should be considered as mitigating circumstances.

McDonald also said Dannat “needs, should have and absolutely ought to have intensive therapy,” and asked that he be placed in a hospital setting such as Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino.