Plummer Man Gets Prison Term For Molesting Stepson

A 30-year-old Plummer, Idaho, man was sentenced Wednesday to up to 10 years in prison for having sex with his 15-year-old stepson.

Admitting that his crime was “horrifically repulsive,” the man read a statement in court apologizing to his stepson, his wife and asking forgiveness in hopes he could overcome his psychological problems.

“He’s my son and I love him, and if I had to, I would give my life to him,” he said.

The man’s name is being withheld because of The Spokesman-Review’s policy not to reveal the identity of sexual abuse victims.

According to police reports, there were a series of sexual incidents in the family’s bathroom while the son was bathing, and in a backyard tent.

The boy’s mother told 1st District Court Judge Gary Haman that her son once was an honor student. But since the December incidents the boy was flunking classes, was extremely depressed and angry and needed counseling and anti-depressants.

“I think emotionally my son would be devastated if he didn’t feel like there was some kind of consequence,” she said. “He did this with full knowledge of the pain he was causing and he needs punishment for that.”

Tom Hearn, a clinical social worker and a certified sexual offender treatment provider, testified that the boy suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, was suicidal and was having flashbacks of the sexual incidents.

Although the man had no prior convictions, Deputy Prosecutor Traci Post asked for five to 15 years on the lewd conduct with a minor conviction. The man claimed he had been similarly abused as a boy, but that’s no excuse, Post argued.

“You can’t just fully blame it on ‘it happened to me,”’ Post said.

Haman recognized the man’s remorse and religious faith, noting that victims of abuse sometimes become abusers themselves. He said incarceration was needed for closure for both the victim and perpetrator. The man must serve at least two years of the 10-year sentence.

“He knew he was doing wrong.

He knew this is not only against man’s law, but against God’s law,” Haman said.

Because the abuse occurred to the boy in his teens, it likely will be more difficult to overcome than had the events happened as a young child, Haman said.

“It’s going to be very vivid for the rest of his life, and it is going to haunt him, like your experience haunted you.”

, DataTimes