Dustin Wallace was a sixteen year old living in Oregon when he would sexually assault and murder a five year old girl Sahara Dwight
According to court documents Dustin Wallace would sexually assault five year old Sahara Dwight. When the little girl attempted to fight off the sixteen year old she would be killed
Dustin Wallace who had a history of violent and sexual behavior would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole
Where Is Dustin Wallace Today
Dustin Wallace is currently incarcerated at Snake River Correctional Institute in Oregon
Dustin Wallace Videos
Dustin Wallace Current Information
| Offender Name: | Wallace, Dustin Michael |
| Age: | 31 |  | DOB: | 03/1994 | | Location: | Snake River Correctional Institution |
| Gender: | Male | | Race: | White | | Status: | AIC |
| Height: | 6′ 03” | | Hair: | Brown | | Institution Admission Date: | 09/15/2015 |
| Weight: | 230 lbs | | Eyes: | Hazel | | Earliest Release Date: | No Parole |
| Caseload: |
Dustin Wallace Case
A judge has decided that the teen who raped and murdered a 5-year-old Roseburg girl will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Judge Randy Garrison handed down his ruling on Tuesday at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing for Dustin Wallace, 18, who was convicted for the assault that happened back in 2010.
The courtroom was almost completely full as the judge handed down his decision.
Dustin Wallace waived his right to a jury trial, allowing the sentencing to be decided by Judge Garrison.
Judge Garrison became emotional at times while he talked about the facts of the case.
He spoke about Sahara’s last moments, in which he said the girl tried to fight Wallace off. “Then he started messing with her after he watched her, and she fought him. She fought him mightily, she put up a heck of a fight,” Garrison said.
Garrison went on to speak about Wallace’s actions after he killed the girl.
He spoke about one of the most disturbing things that happened after Wallace killed the girl. “We know that after the event, he, Dustin Wallace, says something that is so inappropriate that it sticks out in our minds, hugely. That is when Sahara’s mother is hysterically trying to deal with the death of her daughter, Mr. Wallace told her to, “Shut up.”
Wallace’s father could be seen lowering his head and breaking down into tears during the judge’s comments.
He handed down the life without parole sentence, and gasps could be heard in the courtroom. “Justice requires that Mr. Wallace not be released on parole.”
Sentencing hearing
The defense called Wallace’s mother Lisa to testify last week. The questioning centered on Wallace’s mental health.
She and Dustin were all tears, as she described his inability to socialize with others since he was 5-years-old. five years old. “Dustin had difficulty socially with other children beginning since kindergarten,” she said. “Dustin had been in counseling and in to doctors his whole life.”
Lisa also answered questions pertaining to an adult male by the name of Kevin, who was in his early 20’s at the time. Kevin befriended Dustin when he was 15, and Dustin would watch pornographic websites with this male, according to his mother.
Lisa says she sent Dustin to a facility where they teach kids respect and how to psychologically deal with behavior and social skills.
His mother says Dustin was diagnosed with ADD, ADD aggressive, asbergers and depression.
During testimony, some incidents involving Dustin were discussed, such as him allegedly putting his sister’s dog into a pillow case and swinging it around. Also discussed was an incident where he climbed into the shower with his sister when she was 13-years-old.
There was also an incident where Dustin allegedly cut the panties off of a girl who was staying the night.
Dr. Jerry Larsen, a psychiatrist and co-writer of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health, also testified at the hearing Wednesday.
Dr. Larsen testified that if Wallace had been on his medication at the time of the incident, Wallace most likely would have not committed the crime. “Had he been on his meds, he would have been asleep and this would not have happened,” the doctor said.
Wallace was noticeably emotional on Tuesday, as the judge gave his decision to the court.
Dustin Wallace was convicted back in June for the rape and murder of the girl. The defense argued that Wallace did not intend to kill Sahara Dwight and accidentally smothered her as he molested her.
Prosecutors had argued Wallace killed the girl and then lied about what happened in an attempt to get away with the crime.
Judge Randy Garrison said the video of Wallace being interviewed by police after Dwight’s death shows the teen had no remorse for his actions as he spun elaborate lies about what took place that night.
Garrison found Wallace guilty on six counts of aggravated murder and one count each of first degree rape, sexual assault and unlawful sexual penetration.
Teen who raped and murdered girl, 5, gets life without parole
Dustin Wallace Oregon Case: The Rape and Murder of 5-Year-Old Sahara Dwight
Roseburg, Oregon had never seen a case like it. In July 2010, a 5-year-old girl named Sahara Grace Dwight was found dead in her own bedroom after a summer sleepover with family. The person responsible wasn’t an intruder. It was the 16-year-old son of her mother’s boyfriend, Dustin Michael Wallace, who had come from Oklahoma to visit his father.
Two years later, Wallace would sit in a Douglas County courtroom, head in his hands, as a judge sentenced him to die in prison. Convicted child killer Dustin Michael Wallace, 18, holds his head in his hands as his aunt gives testimony during the second of a three-day sentencing hearing in Douglas County Circuit Court in Roseburg, Ore. Wallace sexually assaulted and murdered 5-year-old Sahara Grace Dwight two years ago in Roseburg
Who Was Dustin Wallace Before Oregon?
Dustin Michael Wallace was born in March 1994 and grew up in Oklahoma. By all accounts, his childhood was troubled long before he ever set foot in Oregon.
Dustin Wallace was a sixteen year old teen killer from Oregon who would sexually assault and murder a five year old girl. In reality, he was only an “Oregon teen” for that summer — he was visiting.
His mother, Lisa, would later testify that Dustin had difficulty socially with other children beginning since kindergarten, and had been in counseling his whole life. She said he was diagnosed with ADD, ADD aggressive, aspergers and depression.
The court heard about a pattern, not a single incident: him allegedly putting his sister’s dog into a pillow case and swinging it around, climbing into the shower with his sister when she was 13, and cutting the panties off a girl who was staying the night.
He was 16, 6’3″, and had come to Roseburg to spend time with his dad — who happened to be living with Sahara’s mother.
Sahara Dwight: The 5-Year-Old at the Center
Sahara Grace Dwight was five. She was the daughter of Tyler Dwight, and in the summer of 2010 she was living in a blended household in Roseburg.
On July 9, 2010, Tyler Dwight’s 5-year-old daughter, Sahara Dwight, was taken from him in a horrific crime. Dustin Wallace, who was 16 years old at the time, was later convicted on multiple charges, including the murder and rape of Sahara Dwight.
She was, by every witness account, a typical kindergartener — not a child with any connection to Wallace beyond the fact their parents were dating.
What Happened on July 9, 2010
According to court documents Dustin Wallace would sexually assault five year old Sahara Dwight who he would then smother killing the child.
Prosecutors reconstructed the night from forensic evidence and Wallace’s own shifting statements:
Dustin Wallace was sixteen years old from Oregon when he raped and murdered a five year old girl. According to court documents Dustin Wallace entered the five year old girls bedroom and began to touch her inappropriately and when the child began to cry out he smothered the five year old girl and punched her in the stomach. The little girl died at the scene.
Judge Randy Garrison, who later heard the case without a jury, described her final moments in court: “Then he started messing with her after he watched her, and she fought him. She fought him mightily, she put up a heck of a fight”.
Wallace did not call for help. He went back to bed.
The Morning After and the “Shut Up” Moment
When Sahara’s mother found her daughter cold and unresponsive, she screamed. Paramedics arrived, but it was too late.
It was here that Wallace showed the chilling detachment that would define his sentencing. Judge Garrison recounted: “We know that after the event, he, Dustin Wallace, says something that is so inappropriate that it sticks out in our minds, hugely. That is when Sahara’s mother is hysterically trying to deal with the death of her daughter, Mr. Wallace told her to, ‘Shut up'”.
Wallace’s father could be seen lowering his head and breaking down into tears during the judge’s comments.
The Lies Unravel
Dustin Wallace attempted to tell police that he accidentally smothered the girl when he began to sexually assault her.
Prosecutors had argued Wallace killed the girl and then lied about what happened in an attempt to get away with the crime.
Judge Randy Garrison said the video of Wallace being interviewed by police after Dwight’s death shows the teen had no remorse for his actions as he spun elaborate lies about what took place that night.
The autopsy told a different story than an accident — sexual trauma, petechial hemorrhaging from smothering, and a bruised abdomen from a punch. Wallace was arrested and charged with aggravated murder.
A Judge, Not a Jury
In a strategic move, Dustin Wallace, now 18, waived his right to a jury trial and instead had his case heard by a judge.
The defense argued that Wallace did not intend to kill Sahara Dwight and accidentally smothered her as he molested her.
The state argued the opposite — that smothering a child to stop her screams while assaulting her is intentional murder.
In June 2012, Garrison found Wallace guilty on six counts of aggravated murder and one count each of first degree rape, sexual assault and unlawful sexual penetration.
He lowered his head into his hands and rubbed his eyes after the judge announced all 9 guilty verdicts.
The Sentencing Choice: 30 Years or Never
Because Wallace was a juvenile in 2010 when he killed Sahara Dwight, so he was not eligible for the death penalty. Oregon law gave Judge Garrison only two options: life with the possibility of parole after 30 years, or life without parole.
The Roseburg News-Review reported Garrison had two choices: life without parole, or life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
The defense called a heavy hitter: Dr. Jerry Larsen, a psychiatrist and co-writer of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health. Dr. Larsen testified that if Wallace had been on his medication at the time of the incident, Wallace most likely would not have committed the crime. “Had he been on his meds, he would have been asleep and this would not have happened”.
His attorneys said Wallace has suffered from mental health problems since he was 5, and a psychiatrist testified that Wallace probably would not have killed Sahara if he had been taking medication, which he left at home in Oklahoma when he came to Oregon to visit his father.
The medication, they said, relieved insomnia, helped Wallace think more clearly and lowered his sexual urges.
Prosecutors said he’s shown no remorse.
“Justice Requires”
On November 12, 2012, Wallace was sentenced to life in prison on nine counts.
Judge Randy Garrison handed down his ruling at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing for Dustin Wallace, 18, who was convicted for the assault that happened back in 2010.
He became emotional. Then he was clear:
Judge Randy Garrison said Tuesday in Roseburg that 18-year-old Dustin Wallace poses too great a risk to the public ever to be allowed free. “Justice dictates that Dustin Wallace not be released on parole,” Garrison told a packed courtroom.
He handed down the life without parole sentence, and gasps could be heard in the courtroom. “Justice requires that Mr. Wallace not be released on parole”.
A judge has decided that the teen who raped and murdered a 5-year-old Roseburg girl will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Where Is Dustin Wallace Today?
Dustin Wallace is currently incarcerated at the Snake River Correctional Institution in Ontario, Oregon.
His Oregon Department of Corrections record lists:
- Name: Wallace, Dustin Michael
- Age: 31 (DOB: 03/1994)
- Location: Snake River Correctional Institution
- Admission Date: 09/15/2015
- Earliest Release Date: No Parole
His appeals failed. The Oregon Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions, finding no plain error in how the court merged the aggravated murder counts.
The rewritten truth of Dustin Wallace is simple and brutal: a 16-year-old boy from Oklahoma came to Oregon for a summer with his dad, entered a little girl’s room in the middle of the night, and ended her life to cover up a sexual assault.
He told police it was an accident. The evidence, the autopsy, and a little girl’s fight proved otherwise.
In 2012, an Oregon judge made sure the punishment matched the crime. Dustin Wallace will spend the rest of his life behind bars at Snake River — exactly where Judge Garrison believed he belonged to protect the public.
For Sahara Dwight’s family, no sentence brings her back. But for Roseburg, the case closed a dark chapter, and gave a name to remember: not just Dustin Wallace, but Sahara Grace Dwight, the 5-year-old who fought mightily.
Dustin Wallace Parole Denied
The top prosecutor in Douglas County said a decision to deny parole to a man convicted of raping and killing a 5-year-old girl reflects the severity of one of the region’s most devastating crimes.
Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg said the Oregon Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision’s decision to keep Dustin Wallace in prison acknowledges the lasting impact of the 2010 killing of Sahara Dwight.
“No decision can restore what was taken from Sahara’s family or erase the profound grief this tragedy has caused,” Wesenberg said in a statement. “The brutal murder of this innocent child remains one of the most heartbreaking and impactful crimes in Douglas County’s history.”
The board denied Wallace’s request for parole following a lengthy hearing. Wallace, who was serving a life sentence, acknowledged during the proceedings that he was not ready to return to society, according to officials.
The board also ruled Wallace will not be eligible for another parole hearing for 10 years, the maximum allowed under state law.
Douglas County Commissioner Chris Boice said the county remains committed to supporting victims and ensuring accountability.
“Douglas County will always stand with victims and their families,” Boice said.
Wallace was convicted in 2010 of raping and killing Sahara Dwight in Roseburg. He was originally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
In 2021, then-Gov. Kate Brown commuted the sentences of several individuals convicted of murder and other violent crimes under Senate Bill 1008, making them eligible for parole. Wallace was among those whose sentences were commuted.
Wesenberg said that while he supports the board’s decision, the victim’s family should not have had to endure the parole process.
Officials said family members and supporters attended the hearing, continuing years of advocacy in the case. Authorities described their efforts, along with those of law enforcement and victim advocates, as critical in ensuring the victim’s voice was represented.
The case has remained one of the most high-profile and emotionally charged in Douglas County, with officials and community members continuing to remember Sahara Dwight and the impact of her death.
Douglas County DA praises denial of parole for Dustin Wallace in 2010 child murder case
