YAKIMA, Wash.-Two men were sentenced to life in prison in Yakima County Superior Court following their convictions for child rape.
The convictions were from two of nine cases being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office following a 2019 “Net Nanny” operation in Yakima. The “Net Nanny” sting, during which detectives posed online as minors interested in sex or as individuals offering minors for sex, resulted in the arrest of 16 men.
“We have held two more men accountable for preying on children,” Attorney General Ferguson said of the convictions.
According to a press release from the state Attorney General’s Office, Hayden A. Erlandson, of Union Gap was convicted of attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes in October 2023.
Veniamin N. Gaidaichuk, of Everett, was also convicted of felony attempted second-degree rape of a child and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes in September 2023.
According to the AG’s Office, Erlandson contacted an undercover detective posing as a 13-year-old girl and arranged to meet her at a Yakima home for sex.
Gaidaichuk reportedly also arranged to meet an undercover detective posing as a 13-year-old girl at a Yakima address for sex.
“The work of law enforcement across the state to protect children is vital,” said AG Ferguson. “I appreciate the partnership with the Washington State Patrol and Yakima County to investigate these important cases and bring accountability.”
