Sagle man waives hearing

SANDPOINT — A Sagle man accused of fleeing Idaho to avoid prosecution of charges of lewd conduct waived his right to a preliminary hearing on a felony charge of bail jumping.

Stephen Robert Reiling’s waiver advances the case to 1st District Court. Reiling’s arraignment is set for May 2.

Reiling is being held in lieu of $250,000 in the bail jumping case and $1 million on the lewd conduct case. Court records indicate a bail-reduction has been requested, but there have been no arguments on the motion.

Reiling was arrested in Hawaii in March, nearly four years after he disappeared from Idaho as his trial neared in 2012. Reiling, who was living under aliases including Ken Starr while lamming it, was identified by his fingerprints, which were gathered following his arrest on charges that he sexually assaulted and battered a former girlfriend during an altercation alongside a highway near Kailua-Kona in February.

Reiling, 57, was later found at a coffee shop and did not challenge extradition back to Idaho.

Reiling is accused of fondling the genitals of a Bonner County girl in 2003, when she was between the ages of 8-9 years old. The allegations, however, did not surface until 2011, court records show.