Priest River man pleads to lewd charge

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.