Appeals court affirms sentences

SANDPOINT — Idaho’s Court of Appeals is affirming the prison sentences imposed against two Bonner County men, one of whom repeatedly molested a young girl and another who possessed child pornography.

Dayle Scott Westra pleaded guilty to lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor and was ordered to serve 20 years.

Westra, a 37-year-old from Priest River, argued the sentence was too severe for a first-time felon, but the appeals court disagreed. In an unpublished two-page opinion, the judges briefly but graphically recounted the litany of abuse which included rape, death threats and restraints.

Some of the sex abuse was also videotaped.

The girl endured the abuse for nine years, the appellate court noted.

“The issue before the court is not whether the sentence is one that we would have imposed, but whether the sentence is plainly excessive under any reasonable view of the facts. Having thoroughly reviewed the record in this case, we cannot say that the district court abused its discretion,” the court said in the opinion.

Westra is imprisoned at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution in Kuna, according to the Idaho Department of Correction. He is eligible for parole in the summer of 2012.

Greg Lamar Roberts was sentenced last year to seven years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of sexually exploitative material.

Roberts, a 48-year-old from Sandpoint, was charged after images of minors engaged in sex acts were discovered on a personal computer he used to access the Web.

Roberts petitioned for post-conviction relief on grounds similar those of Westra’s, but the petitioned was denied. Roberts appealed the petition’s denial, but the appellate court held that denial was not improper.

“Upon review of the record, we concluded no abuse of discretion has been shown,” the appeals court opinion said.

Roberts is being held at the South Idaho Correctional Institution, a minimum security work-release facility in Kuna. Roberts is eligible for parole in the fall of 2013, according to IDOC.

Both appeals court opinions were released on Thursday.