Idaho judge faces threats over ex-BYU baseball player’s criminal case. What happened?

Idaho officials said a judge faced death threats after misinformation on social media identified him as the reason a 22-year-old former college baseball player does not have to register as a sex offender in a case involving a charge of lewd conduct with a minor.

In a news release, the Idaho Judicial Branch said 7th District Judge Steven Boyce and his family faced threats following the Aug. 26 sentencing of Candon Dahle, who was from Blackfoot and pitched for Brigham Young University, for two counts of felony injury to a child.

“After news reports on the sentencing, social media posts distorted the facts, spreading the claim that a judge had chosen not to sentence a rapist to prison,” the Judicial Branch said in the news release. “That misinformation has fueled nationwide threats against the local court.”

Dahle was not required to register as a sex offender because Idaho law does not require that of people convicted of felony injury to a child.

Dahle was initially charged in February with a single count of lewd conduct with a child under 16 by the Fremont County Prosecutor’s Office, and the case was initially assigned to Judge Faren Eddins. If Dahle had been convicted of that charge, he would have been required to register as a sex offender. According to a timeline from the Judicial Branch, Dahle’s case was transferred to a new judge, Dane Watkins, who oversaw mediation between the prosecution and defense in May.

The Judicial Branch said both sides agreed to a plea deal. Instead of the lewd conduct charge, Dahle would plead guilty to two counts of felony injury to a child and face probation, with potential prison time if he violated his probation.

After the second judge accepted Dahle’s guilty plea, Boyce became the third judge in charge of the case. According to the news release, the plea agreement was “binding,” meaning the judge can’t change the terms that the parties agreed on during mediation earlier in the year. The judge can choose to accept or reject the deal.

Boyce had to stay within the parameters of the plea agreement – probation with the possibility of prison for a violation – but was given discretion for the length of the sentences. The deal also allowed for some limited jail time.

The judge sentenced Dahle to eight years of probation with the possibility of 10 years in prison if he violates the terms of his probation. He must also serve 180 days in jail, which Boyce said was “absolutely necessary” to “address justice in this case.”

“Mr. Dahle, you gain a huge benefit through the plea agreement of not having to be a registered sex offender,” Boyce said. “That is a considerable benefit to you going forward, which you were clearly facing given the facts of the case.”

During sentencing, the 15-year-old victim described years of sexual assault at the hands of Dahle and told Boyce she believed she wasn’t his only victim. She said Dahle deserved lewd conduct charges. She said she felt “pressured and scared” during mediation and agreed to the plea deal to maintain a relationship with Dahle’s family, according to her testimony in court.

Threats becoming more common in Idaho court system

Nate Poppino, a spokesperson for the state court system, told the Idaho Statesman in an interview that threats like those Boyce received have become more common in recent years.

“I think these issues are endemic online now, and they have been for a while,” Poppino said. But he noted that “not every threat is a big social media thing like this, some are just an individual threat.”

A post on an Idaho Facebook political activism page encouraged followers to “make some good trouble” for Boyce. Some content creators on platforms including YouTube and TikTok mentioned Dahle’s plea agreement in videos, but also erroneously pointed to the judge as the source of the agreement. One creator alleged the judge “didn’t want to ruin (Dahle’s) life over a simple mistake.” Multiple videos displayed the judge’s photo alongside the sentence.

“In one instance, people thought they saw the judge at a local fair and encouraged others to track him down,” the Judicial Branch news release said. “Court staff have been told to expect a group that is coming to ‘get’ the judge. In messages and posts, people have urged the judge and his children to be sexually assaulted themselves. The volume and detail of the threats has required additional security precautions at public expense.”

Poppino said in the past judges have been doxxed – meaning their personal information was shared online – or had people protest outside their homes. They’ve also had people threaten to show up at loved ones’ workplaces or schools. In one instance, a person showed up at the sports game of a judge’s child, because they were upset about the outcome of court proceedings, he said.

Poppino said the Judicial Branch expects criticism and understands that many cases deal with difficult and highly personal situations.

“I worry that people read this as a court system that doesn’t want to hear people’s concerns, and that’s not it at all,” he said. “We want to make sure people are getting the facts of a case and understanding how things are happening in court.”