State upholds sentencing in abuse case

SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is upholding the sentence handed to a North Idaho man accused of molesting a teenager while she slept. Austin Byron Courser was ordered to serve up to 15 years in prison after he pled guilty to an amended charge of sexual abuse of a minor. Courser has to serve at least five years of the sentence before he can qualify for parole.

First District Judge Steve Verby sentenced Courser last year.Courser, 37, appealed the sentence, arguing that it was too excessive. The appeals court, however, disagreed and ruled that Verby did not abuse his discretion in sentencing Courser, according to an unpublished opinion released on Thursday.

Courser was accused of fondling a 15-year-old girl’s genitalia following a graduation party in the Pack River Valley in the spring of 2009. He was originally charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor, an offense that result in a lifelong prison sentence upon conviction.Courser entered an Alford plea to an amended charge of sexual abuse of a minor in an agreement with the state. Under such a plea, a defendant admits no wrongdoing but concedes a conviction could be obtained if the matter went to trial.

The state planned to recommend imprisonment in the retained jurisdiction program, which would have given Courser a chance at parole after serving six months to a year in prison. However, Courser allegedly went on the lam prior to his sentencing, which scotched the original sentence recommendation.Courser was apprehended in Benewah County about a year after he fled Bonner County, court records indicate.

Courser is imprisoned at the Idaho Maximum Security Institution, a facility in Kuna which confines the state’s most disruptive offenders. He is eligible for parole in 2015, according to the Idaho Department of Correction.