Man arrested on lewd conduct charge

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man who apparently works in local private and public schools was arrested Monday on allegations of engaging in lewd conduct with a minor.

Jess Robert Logan made an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Tuesday via video feed from the county jail. Judge Debra Heise set Logan’s bail at $20,000 and entered an order forbidding him from being in contact with the alleged victim, court records show.

Logan, 36, is accused of touching a 6-year-old’s genitalia in 2014, according to charging documents.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Sept. 21 and a bond-reduction hearing is pending.

The allegations surfaced after a 15-year-old girl alleged that Logan touched her inappropriately during the fireworks display at City Beach on the Fourth of July, touching off investigations by Sandpoint Police, the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office and the Child Advocacy Center in Coeur d’Alene, court records indicate.

The investigation uncovered allegations that Logan had repeatedly touched the 6-year-old despite her insisting that he cease touching her, according to a probable cause affidavit. She alleged the abuse began when she was a toddler, the affidavit said.

Court documents indicate that Logan has been employed as a para-professional and tutor at local charter and public schools in Sandpoint while awaiting teaching credentials. The places of his purported employment could not be immediately verified late Tuesday afternoon.

Logan, on the advice of defense counsel, declined to be interviewed by sheriff’s investigators, court records show.