Rexburg care center worker sentenced for sex assault

IDAHO FALLS – A judge has ordered a former caregiver to enter a treatment program that could be followed by a prison sentence after the man was convicted of sexually assaulting a patient at a rehabilitation center in southeast Idaho.

Brandon Bowcut was ordered into a treatment program Wednesday with an underlying prison sentence of five to 15 years, the Post Register reported.

Bowcut, 39, was arrested in February after a 76-year-old woman reported the assault that occurred while she was recovering at Madison Carriage Cove in Rexburg.

“It happened in a place where people are the most vulnerable,” the victim’s daughter said in an impact statement given to the court.

The woman was incapacitated from a leg fracture and was under the influence of medication at the time, according to authorities.

Judge Stevan Thompson retained jurisdiction while Bowcut goes through a treatment program in prison. The judge can impose the prison sentence or release Bowcut on probation at the end of the treatment program.

Defense attorney James Archibald had requested probation or retained jurisdiction for his client, citing an evaluation that concluded Bowcut was treatable.

Madison County Deputy Prosecutor Rob Wood called for a prison sentence due to the nature of the crime.

“We need our community to know that this is unacceptable,” Wood told the court.

Bowcut told the court before sentencing that he had been dealing with both drug and pornography addiction, and that the assault occurred during a moment of weakness.

“I can’t imagine a more egregious breach of trust than what you did in this situation,” Thompson told Bowcut.