Pullman business owner convicted of first-degree child molestation

A Pullman business owner was convicted of first-degree child molestation in Whitman County Superior Court.

Victor Hudak, 52, was convicted of one count of child molestation in the first degree, the Whitman County Prosecutor’s Office announced in a news release Thursday.

Hudak faces 51-68 months to life in prison, and if released he must register as a sex offender and be on life-time supervision with the department of corrections, according to the news release. Whitman County Judge Gary Libey set a hearing for Feb. 17 to determine Hudak’s sentence.

An 11-year-old girl and her 6-year-old stepsister were swimming in a creek near the playfields in Pullman on July 24 when they saw Hudak on the bridge above them. Hudak approached the girls in the creek and the victim saw he had an erection, according to the release.

The girls went to the playfields, and Hudak boosted the survivor’s stepsister into the tree. While the 6-year-old was in the tree, Hudak reached with his hand and touched the 11-year-old victim’s buttocks, stated in the release. The girls went home and told their father and stepmother what had happened, and their dad called the police.

The survivor received a life-time protection order from Hudak.

During the hearing, the jury heard testimony from another victim, and Officer Nathan Padrta bringing forth a 2019 case when Hudak grabbed a 14-year-old girl’s bottom several times while in his shop, Atom Heart Music. Hudak was charged with, and pleaded to, assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation. He was sentenced by Court Commissioner Doug Robinson and served three months in jail in 2019.

Hudak still remains in the Whitman County Jail until his sentencing hearing without bond, according to the Whitman County Superior Court Clerk.