SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is affirming the denial of post-conviction relief for a Blanchard man who was convicted of kidnapping and raping his semi-estranged girlfriend at remote cabin near Spirit Lake in 2016.

A Bonner County jury convicted Joe Frederick Ransom of the felony charges in 2017

Ransom was accused of holding his former girlfriend against her will at her cabin. The woman, 54 at the time of trial, took the witness stand and gave chilling accounts of her alleged ordeal, which included being beaten, made to call family members to say final goodbyes, and being threatened with torture and mutilation. The hours-long incident culminated with her rape.

Ransom took the stand to refute the allegations, although jurors found the alleged victim’s account to be more credible than his.

First District Judge Barbara Buchanan sentenced Ransom to concurrent life terms for each charge. Ransom was ordered to serve 10 years before he could be considered for parole.

Ransom appealed his conviction but the appeals court upheld it in 2017. Ransom subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, arguing his trial counsel’s assistance was deficient because the defense failed to utilize a telecommunications expert or subpoena his phone records. He further argued that the defense never presented exculpatory witness testimony or stated the proper burden of proof during closing arguments.

The state moved to summarily dismiss the petition on grounds that Ransom did not present evidence regarding the expert testimony and that the record contradicted his claim that the burden of proof was not properly stated.

Buchanan granted the dismissal, prompting Ransom to appeal.

The appellate court, however, upheld Buchanan’s dismissal of Ransom’s petition.

“Ransom has failed to show that the district court summarily dismissed the claims in his petition on grounds different from those raised in the state’s motion to dismiss. The notice requirements were satisfied in this case because the district court dismissed the petition on essentially the same grounds presented in the state’s motion,” Judge David W. Gratton said in a seven-page unpublished opinion released on Tuesday.

Ransom, 58, is serving his sentence at the Idaho Correctional Center near Boise, according to the Idaho Department of Correction. He becomes eligible for parole in 2026, IDOC’s website states.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.