He took a Nampa girl to Washington and molested her. After 9 months in prison, he’s out
A Washington state man who pleaded guilty to molesting a Nampa child and hiding her in his parents’ home has been released from prison less than a year after his sentencing.
Austin Holbrook, 22, was sentenced in June 2025 to two counts of second-degree child molestation. After a plea agreement, Benton County (Washington) Judge Jackie Shea Brown gave Holbrook, 22, three years and two months in prison, but he was released from the Airway Heights Corrections Center on April 30 and will remain on probation until April 2029, according to Chris Wright, Washington State Department of Corrections spokesperson.
Holbrook admitted to driving 270 miles from Kennewick, Washington, to Nampa to pick up a 12-year-old girl he met on Hilly, a dating app that is supposed to be used by those at least 18 years of age.
Holbrook took the victim back to Kennewick and kept her hidden in his bedroom for nearly a week, letting her out only when his parents were away from the home, the Tri-City Herald previously reported. Holbrook sexually assaulted the girl and provided her with little food or water, according to her stepfather’s statements at the sentencing.
The Nampa child’s parents said their daughter needed to undergo recovery treatment and described the experience as an emotional roller coaster, according to the Tri-City Herald.
“My family will never be the same,” her stepfather said at the sentencing. “You’re a predator.”
Holbrook was arrested after a neighbor called the police. The neighbor became suspicious of how young Holbrook’s “girlfriend” appeared, court documents said. A medical exam determined that the girl was malnourished and dehydrated when she was found.
“I want to apologize for my actions and the impact they had,” Holbrook said during a recent sentencing hearing. “I made a series of choices that I regret.”
The Canyon County Prosecutor’s Office initially charged Holbrook with lewd conduct with a child in August 2024, but dropped the case in July 2025. The prosecutor’s office said the decision was “made in the interest of justice and to avoid requiring the victim to go through further court proceedings.”
The Canyon County prosecutor said in an email to the Statesman: “After he was convicted and received a significant prison sentence in Washington state ... our office reviewed the case and determined that additional prosecution in Idaho would not result in any meaningful additional punishment.”
