Man Who Molested Boy at Yakima Walmart Sentenced

A man who police say molested a boy at a Yakima Walmart restroom in 2019 was sentenced in Yakima County Superior Court on Thursday.

The 31-year-old man has been in trouble before as a Level ll sex offender

31-year-old Michael Murr of Union Gap pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree child molestation. A judge sentenced Murr to two years in prison for the incident in the Walmart restroom. Police say the molestation happened on November 27th at the Walmart at 1600 East Chestnut. Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic says Murr will have to register as a sex offender when he is released. He'll face that label for the rest of his life. But it's a label he's familiar with.
Murr is also familiar to the court as a Level II sex offender after a conviction in 2009 on first-degree child molestation.

The Walmart incident happened in the store bathroom

In the November 2019 incident court documents say Murr approached a 12-year-old boy in the restroom at the store at 1600 E. Chestnut Ave. Authorities say Murr asked the boy if he could zip up his pants while also placing his hand in the boys pants. Murr was pushed away by the boy who then ran from the restroom and reported the incident to authorities. Murr was arrested a short time later and on Thursday he was sentenced in Yakima County Superior Court.

Murr's next conviction will be his last

After the guilty plea a judge warned Murr his next conviction will serve at the third strike under the state's "third strike law" that would put him in prison for the rest of his life.