Newberg man faces charges for alleged sexual relationship with McMinnville minor

A Newberg man faces multiple charges on allegations he had an illegal, month-long sexual relationship with a minor McMinnville girl late last year.

Daniel Simbaco Tracy, 37, was arrested June 13 in McMinnville following an investigation by the Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office. Tracy — initially charged with third-degree rape, first-degree online sexual corruption of a child and using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct — was arraigned June 14 by Yamhill County Circuit Court Judge Ladd Wiles.

Tracy was assigned McMinnville attorney Mark Pihl as counsel, with Deputy District Attorney Michael Dolan serving as the prosecutor in the case.

Days later, Wiles approved a no-contact order, forbidding Tracy from reaching out to the victim — who was identified as a child under the age of 16 — in person or via cell phone, email, mail or electronic device. Wiles also ordered sheriff’s deputies to apply restraints to Tracy while he was in the courtroom, finding that he was a flight risk or could disrupt the courtroom or nearby hallway and pose a threat to staff or the victim herself.

Tracy was indicted on June 21 by a grand jury on the initial three charges, as well as a fourth charge of solicitation. The fourth charge stemmed from allegations that Tracy intended to, “develop, disseminate and/or exchange a visual recording of sexually explicit conduct involving a child … with the intent of causing the (victim) to engage in said conduct.”

Deputy Zaragoza Rodriguez filed a probable cause affidavit on June 13 that led to Tracy’s arrest. After the initial investigation and a forensic probe of Tracy’s cell phone, Rodriguez determined the man had allegedly contacted the victim in January via social media and arranged to have sex in his car. After Tracy’s phone was seized as evidence, the forensics investigation discovered messages between the girl and Tracy via a Snapchat account later identified by his ex-wife as belonging to Tracy.

Tracy continued to exchange lurid texts, Snapchat messages and explicit photos with the child over the course of several more days in January, which gave rise to the charge of using a child in display of sexually explicit conduct.

Using a child in a display of sexually explicit conduct is a Measure 11 crime that, if the suspect is found guilty, nets a mandatory minimum sentence of nearly six years in prison. Sentences for the other three crimes follow guidelines set by the state, but are at the discretion of the judge.

Based on the information he gathered during the investigation, Rodriguez found probable cause to arrest Tracy and refer the case to the district attorney’s office for prosecution.

Wiles set bail in the case at $100,000 and Tracy remains in custody in the Yamhill County jail in McMinnville. The court, defense and prosecutor have yet to schedule the next hearing in the case.