Coast Guardsman reaches plea deal in teen sex case
COQUILLE, Ore. - A member of the U.S. Coast Guard accused of having a sexual dating relationship with an underaged girl pleaded guilty to one count of third degree rape and one count of furnishing alcohol to a minor.
The guilty plea comes after the Coos County District Attorney's Office agreed to drop four other felony charges in exchange for the deal.
Luke Kanada admitted to Judge Michael Gillespie on Tuesday morning that he met the underaged girl at the Coos County Fair last summer, gave her his phone number and then had sex with her that same night.
Police got involved when the young girl was reported as a runaway. After being arrested by police, she told authorities that she hadn't runaway but instead spent the night with Kanada. That is when the investigation into the relationship began.
It was noted in court Tuesday morning by Kanada's attorney and the assistant district attorney acting in place of Fraiser that the victim's mother approved of her daughter sleeping with Kanada and had tried to stall court proceedings because she felt Kanada was being treated too harshly for his actions.
"This is the first time you're out on your own, and when many people are in that situation they screw up. In your case, you screwed up big," Gillespie said to Kanada before sentencing.
Kanada will be forced to register as a sex offender, stay away from females under the age of 18, avoid teenage hangouts, serve probation and pay more than $1,000 in fines.
Kanada's attorney said the process to discharge Kanada from the Coast Guard is set to begin next week.
After that, he said Kanada will move back home to Idaho where he will also have to register as a sex offender.
I APPLAUD Kellie Garkow!! She is the mother of the "victim" and was really brave to speak out as she did!! The court should have listened to her.  HEY DA FRAISER, what about your son who was just shy of being an adult when he was charged with rape and he was not 1 not 2, not 3, BUT 4 years older than his victim (a 13 yr old girl) and all he has to do is jump through Probation hoops and does NOT have to register as a sex offender!! Remember what the Judge said to your son Fraiser? He said "You've been a good person. It is an isolated incident that brings you before the court" and "...charges were brought because the victim could not legally consent...... Fraiser did not force the girl." SOUND FAMILIAR FRAISER? Kanada did NOT force the girl~he used bad judgment. Good luck to the families involved.
It is ridiculous to ruin this young man's life over consensual sex with a teenager. According to Merriam-Webster rape is "sexual intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat of injury against the will usually of a female or with a person who is beneath a certain age or incapable of valid consent." It appears that only "beneath a certain age" applies in cases like this. Our law discriminates when it comes to punishment of consensual sex, regardless of their ages. It is almost always the male who is punished by the courts - the females are rarely held responsible for their part in this "crime" - the exceptions I've seen have been when it's a teenage boy and his female teacher. Sadly, this young man has to be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and that punishment does NOT fit this "crime" - In My Honest Opinion.So, what happens if a man of legal age doesn't know the girl is under 16? What if he asks to see her ID and she shows him the same fake ID she uses to buy beer? Oh, yes, there are plenty of girls out there who look far more mature than their actual ages and I know quite a few personally. I would like to see a lot more COMMON SENSE applied to cases like this. Sadly, this young man has to be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life and that punishment does NOT fit this "crime" - In My Honest Opinion.
@CaptchaThis Thank You, my feelings exactly. This is  BS, the media has hurt him too, because he`s a USCG. or was CG. that`s gone too. Big news . So sad for our family. He`s not a rapest or a molester. The law needs to changed. He`s Coquil station. Wheres the lawyers????
How in the world can he pay for this crime??? $1000 are you kidding me!!!!
We can`t so now what? We still have 5 kids at home. Merry Christmas!!!
 @EIK10 there are victimsthen there  are siblings that are  victims thank  you  media  and  i second  tha  merry  christmas  as  my  7  year old  granddaughter  spends  christmas  with  out  her  daddy  her  mommy  abandoned  her  at  20  months all  she  has  is  grandma
This is has been very hard on all of us. My Son has never been in trouble with the law ever.He had a great career as a USCG. He screwed that up ,too. I truely believe this wasn`t a crime of such a harsh punishment. Sad for my Son to be honest. He gets harshy punished for being honest!!!! Shame on you DA & the Judge.
 I too believe that School & planned parenthood need to leave kids alone when it comes to SEX.They incourage it, then see what happens to our boys, This is a nice young lady. A good family. She`s very upset for Luke. This wouldn`t have been so hard on him. If he hadn`t been a USCG. God help any of your Children with this system. Laws need to be changed. This is awful, My son isn`t a molester!!!!! God help the news media for posingt his face & name all over their paper!!! Not very smart!
My Prayer for Luke, this young girl, like many 15/16 years olds are sexually involved and for everyone reading this email. That they will realize there is a God who will not let sin go unpunished. It starts with the heart. A heart for God. Is God finished here. No, Luke and this teenage girl's future depends on their relationship with Jesus Christ. God knows all things. Will life be easy. Probably not. It is not easy with law abiding citizens, but the peace that you have comes from God Almighty. He is the healer and comforter. I am sorry that Luke lost his place but when we trust in Jesus we know that All things work together for good to them who are in Christ Jesus. I think the Prosecutor and Judge did the best they could do in this situation. It would have been nice to see this end for him to get on with his life, but this was just a bad situation may all live in peace for today and forget those things which are behind us.
@dandpandy Thank you!
First off....I don't approve or encourage anyone to have sex, before marriage! I only stated that my 16 year old knew what she was doing when she consented to becoming sexually involved with Luke. It's hard to protect our children from a world that is so immoral. We send then to schools where they teach them about sex, tell them how and where to obtain birth control(pill,shots,condoms,morning after pills) and then casually inform our children they don't have to tell us. Hello..why would any adult tell a child not to confide in their parent? GOD help us all...