Wenatchee Rabbi/Pastor Sentenced to 14 Months For Assault

A 50-year-old messianic rabbi from Dryden has been given a 14-month prison sentence after being found guilty by a jury in Chelan County of assault against his former partner. 

Isaac David Heckman was sentenced Wednesday by Superior Court Judge Travis Brandt after a jury convicted him of two counts of 2nd Degree Assault, one for Substantial Bodily Harm and the other for Strangulation.  

The jury could not agree on a third charge of Assault with a Deadly Weapon. 

Judge Brandt sentenced Heckman to 14 months for each conviction, which will be served concurrently. 

Brandt also gave Heckman 18 months of community custody once his prison sentence is complete. In addition, Heckman has a 10 year no contact order for his former partner. 

He has 30 days to appeal his case. 

Heckman is the Rabbi/Pastor for the Assembly of Called Out Believers, a Wenatchee-based messianic fellowship that combines teachings from both Judaism and Christianity.  

Heckman was originally charged in April 2021 with three counts of second-degree assault after being accused of choking and assaulting his former partner.  

His trial was set to begin last December, but it was delayed when prosecutors and Heckman’s defense attorney asked for more time to collect transcripts and conduct interviews.   

Superior Court Judge Kristin Ferrera granted a continuance and set a new trial date for last month but noted the age of the case and warned that another continuance may not be granted.    

Both the state and Heckman’s defense attorney were granted a continuance in September for the purpose of interviewing more witnesses.     

He was also charged with misdemeanor disclosing intimate images in the case.   

According to the original arresting court affidavit in March of 2021, the victim alleged that Heckman choked her and physically assaulted her multiple times.    

He was initially charged with three felony counts of second-degree assault and domestic violence.  

A year after his arrest, Heckman was additionally charged with cyberstalking, violation of a court order, tampering with a witness, and for disclosing intimate images, after a website containing intimate photos of the victim came to light.    

His defense attorney motioned to dismiss the first three aforementioned charges, stating that there was an insufficient amount of evidence tying Heckman to that website. 

Judge Ferrera dismissed three out of the four additional charges in March of this year. He was ultimately charged with the three counts of assault before going to trial last week.

Heckman will have to pay $1,159 in restitution, most of it going to the state Crime Victims Compensation program. His former partner will get $58 in restitution. 

The sentencing document issued Wednesday indicated Heckman is indigent, with an income of 125 percent or less of the current federal poverty level.