Trials reset in grand jury's molestation cases

SANDPOINT — Jury trials have been reset for eight people indicted by a Bonner County grand jury for molesting children.

Ernest Ray Johnson III is set to be tried in on six counts of lewd conduct on Sept. 8 in 1st District Court. Johnson’s wife, Heidi, is likewise charged and slated to be tried on Dec. 8.

Heidi Johnson’s mother and father, Frank Donald Hankey and Diane Lynn Hankey, are both charged with five counts of lewd conduct. Frank Hankey’s trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 14, while his wife’s trial is set for Sept. 8.

The two couples were indicted following lengthy grand jury proceedings in January. The victims, who ranged in age from 1-14, were sexually abused between 2004 and 2012, with the duration of the abuse ranging from three to eight years, the indictment alleges.

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