Appeal in rape case to be heard Nov. 12

SANDPOINT — The state’s appeal of a dismissed rape case against a former Sandpoint man is slated to go before the Idaho Court of Appeals later this month.

Gary Dean Blankenship Jr. was charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor, stemming from allegations that he sexually abused the girl in the late 1980s and early ‘90s.

The charges, however, did not surface until last year.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall later moved to amend the lewd-conduct charges because the statute of limitations for that offense had expired and supplant it with a charge of statutory rape.

Blankenship’s counsel, Sandpoint attorney Bryce Powell, moved to dismiss the charge because the prosecution was barred by the five-year statute of limitation applicable to statutory rape. The state opposed the defense motion and sought to charge Blankenship with forcible rape, a charge not barred by the statute of limitation.

First District Judge Steve Verby denied the motion to amend the charging information and granted the defense motion to dismiss, holding that allowing the amendment would prejudice Blankenship’s substantial rights.

Blankenship, 51, relocated to Washington state and later filed a $10 million claim for damages against the county, alleging he was subjected to malicious prosecution which irreparably harmed his personal and professional life.

Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Jorgensen appealed Verby’s denial of the state’s motion to amend the charging information last year.

The appeals court is scheduled to take up the matter on Nov. 12 in Boise.