Sentence imposed in contested molestation case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man was sentenced Thursday to five years of probation after pleading guilty to a felony assault charge stemming from molestation allegations made against him.

“I did not do the things I’m accused of,” said Leo Ray Hunsaker emphatically told Senior District Judge James R. Michaud just before the sentence was handed down.

Hunsaker entered an Alford plea to a count of aggravated assault through a plea agreement which the court ultimately bound itself to. Under such a plea, a defendant admits no wrongdoing but concedes they could be convicted at trial.

Hunsaker’s sentence ends a three-year legal odyssey which included a hard-fought preliminary hearing, repeated trial delays, a dismissal of the charges due to the delays and reinstatement of the charges.

Hunsaker, 40, was charged of engaging in lewd conduct with an 11-year-old girl in 2002 and having sex with her on numerous occasions in 2004 and 2005, when she was between the ages of 13 and 14.

Michaud dismissed the case against Hunsaker last year due to the state’s delay in bringing the matter before a jury, but the charges were later re-filed, setting the stage for a new round of proceedings.

Hunsaker’s defense counsel in the reinstated case, Coeur d’Alene attorney Clark Peterson, said he was eager to try the case because the medical evidence so blatantly contradicted the alleged victim’s statements about the abuse. The evidence indicated the victim’s virginity was intact after the allegations surfaced.

However, Peterson said his client entered into the plea agreement to end a process that has been costly, stressful and devoid of a guaranteed outcome.

“I couldn’t counsel my client to roll the dice,” said Peterson.

Although the plea agreement nixed any chance of an acquittal, a withheld judgment would essentially achieve the same goal since it can lead to the dismissal of charges upon completion of probation.

The plea agreement recommended local jail time instead of prison. It further stipulated that Hunsaker would not have to register as a sex offender.

Bonner County Prosecutor Phil Robinson recommended 90 days in jail and five years’ probation.

The alleged victim now resides outside the area and opted not to address the court, Robinson said.

With his wife and children holding hands in the gallery, an emotional Hunsaker read from a prepared statement in which he said he took great comfort in the love of his family during his ordeal, but despaired at the thought of being separated from them.

“It has been hard not knowing if you’re going to be out of the home,” Hunsaker said, his hands trembling as he read from the statement.

Michaud imposed five years of unsupervised probation as stipulated in the agreement, but added that he would have imposed only two if he was not bound to the pact. Michaud also granted a withheld judgment.

Sentencing factors cited by Michaud included the credibility issues involving the alleged victim, due process issues resulting from the earlier dismissal and the length of the case. Michaud did not address the jail recommendation.

“I choose to say no more,” said Michaud at the end of the hearing.