Prison ordered in sex abuse case

SANDPOINT — A Blanchard man will spend at least a year in prison after pleading guilty to reduced charge in a lewd conduct case.

Ronald Duane Downey was sentenced Friday to up eight years in prison for sexual abuse of a minor, but 1st District Judge Steve Verby retained jurisdiction over the defendant.

When jurisdiction is retained, a defendant can qualify for release onto probation after serving up to 365 days in prison. If things go poorly during that time frame, the defendant could be further incarcerated.

Downey, 43, was charged with lewd conduct for fondling a 12-year-old girl’s genitalia in March of last year. The girl told Bonner County sheriff’s investigators Downey had repeatedly committed similar misconduct on prior occasions.

The lewd conduct charge was amended slightly before being reduced further to sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 16, according to court documents.

Downey’s co-counsel, Richard Bechtolt, and Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall both recommended retained jurisdiction, although Marshall advocated for an underlying sentence of five to 15 years.

Bechtolt noted that Downey was a unique lewd conduct defendant in that he readily admitted to the misconduct and proactively sought counseling. Downey was also remorseful for the harm he inflicted, court records said.

Verby agreed to retain jurisdiction and imposed an underlying sentence of three years of fixed time and up to five additional years of indeterminate penitentiary time.