Man pleads innocent to lewd charges

SANDPOINT — A Washington state man pleaded not guilty Monday to molesting a 5-year-old girl in Bonner County four years ago.

Mark Richard Boncz’s four-day trial in 1st District Court is set to begin on Sept. 14. He is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct and faces up to life in prison if convicted.

Boncz, a 54-year-old from Newport, was indicted by a grand jury in April and was arrested last month. He engaged in genital-on-genital contact with the girl in 2005, the indictment alleges.

The language in the indictment is strikingly similar to that of a criminal complaint filed against Boncz in 1987. He was charged with lewd conduct involving an 8-year-old girl, but subsequently pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of sexual abuse of a minor, court records indicate.

District Judge James G. Towles ordered Boncz to serve up to five years in prison in 1988, according to court documents.

Records from the grand jury proceedings remain sealed, although court documents indicate the alleged victim and her mother testified. Priest River’s chief of police, an Idaho Department of Health & Welfare caseworker and a Bonner General Hospital pediatrician also testified.

Boncz was being held in lieu of $200,000 bail, although District Judge Steve Verby agreed on Monday to reduce it to $100,000.

Chief Public Defender Isabella Robertson argued that Boncz has work and family ties to the Bonner County area. She added that there are inconsistencies in the case and a significant amount of time has elapsed from the alleged misconduct and his indictment.

“That is a significant issue,” she said.

Prosecutor Louis Marshall objected to any reduction in bail, pointing out that Boncz is charged with a serious offense and that the case was strong enough to secure an indictment from 15 grand jurors.