Priest River man pleads to lewd charge
Keith KINNAIRD<br | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 15 years, 10 months AGO
SANDPOINT — A Priest River man pleaded guilty Tuesday to molesting an 11-year-old girl last month.
Dayle Scott Westra faces a prison sentence of 10 years to life when he is sentenced in March.
In exchange for the plea, the state has agreed not to file additional charges against Westra unless another victim comes forward. He is also required to submit to a full-disclosure polygraph examination.
It was also revealed on Tuesday that Westra is the subject of an FBI child pornography investigation. Court documents indicate a laptop computer was seized as potential evidence in the state case.
Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall said after the hearing that the FBI had advised the Priest River Police Department that agents found no images of child pornography on the personal computer.
Marshall said it remains unclear if Westra will be federally prosecuted, however.
Westra, 36, was arrested on allegations that he raped and sodomized the girl in Bonner County on Dec. 3, 2009. He was charged with lewd and lascivious conduct.
He remains held at the Bonner County Jail with bail set at $100,000.
ARTICLES BY KEITH KINNAIRD<BR
Appeals court rules in cattle truck spill case
SANDPOINT — Idaho’s Court of Appeals is upholding the vacated judgment against a Canadian cattle truck driver accused of spilling a mixture of feces, urine and rainwater on U.S. Highway 95 in Boundary County.
Constitutional amendments on Nov. 2 ballot
SANDPOINT — Idaho voters will get a chance to weigh in on Idaho constitutional amendments concerning funding for the University of Idaho and public airports, hospitals and electrical systems.
Man with child porn arrested by Border Patrol
PORTHILL — A United States citizen was arrested earlier this month after allegedly getting his car stuck while attempting to sneak into Canada with a laptop computer containing child pornography.