Life sentence imposed in abuse case

SANDPOINT — A Priest River man convicted of subjecting his wife and family to sexual and ritualized abuse was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday.

Dana Andrew Furtney accepted 1st District Judge Fred Gibler’s sentence impassively. Furtney, 49, will have to serve 25 years of the sentence before he can be considered for release on parole.

A Bonner County jury convicted Furtney in February on nine counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, in addition to lone counts of sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 16, ritualized abuse, felony injury to a child and domestic battery in the presence of a child which resulted in traumatic injury.

Furtney was accused of using his deep religious beliefs to victimize his wife, son and daughters at the family’s home north of Priest River between 2009 and 2013. The charges came to light after a family friend, Mary Hungerford, convinced Furtney’s wife to flee and alert the authorities. Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall hailed Hungerford as a hero for winning the family’s trust and helping them to escape to the Midwest.

Jurors took in harrowing testimony of the physical manifestations of Furtney’s blend of Christianity, bondage and sadomasochism. Their teenage son was made to eat feces as a religious rite and chained to an outhouse in March with minimal food and clothing for a week. Two of the couple’s daughters, meanwhile, were sexually abused and almost taken as brides by Furtney. Furtney’s wife testified of being locked in a set of bondage stocks and violated with a sex toy.

Furtney did not dispute that he may have touched his daughters inappropriately when he took the stand, but insisted it was not for his own sexual gratification.

Furtney’s daughter, 22, called upon the court to show her father compassion and forgiveness, explaining that he would never intentionally hurt anyone.

“I want mercy for my dad,” she said in a victim impact statement to the court. “I am asking for the shortest sentence.”

Furtney’s wife and other children wrote victim impact statements which were reviewed by the court prior to the hearing.

Furtney’s daughter also pointed out that her mother was an active participant in some of the abuse, which inflicted “deep wounds.”

Marshall acknowledged the role of Furtney’s wife in the abuse, but made a calculated decision not to prosecute because he doubted Furtney could be prosecuted without her testimony against him. Moreover, the grand jury which indicted Furtney insisted he be charged for abuse he inflicted upon his wife, who has since divorced Furtney.

Marshall recommended a life sentence without parole due to severity and duration of Furtney’s misconduct. Marshall added that Furtney was incapable of being rehabilitated.

“He is not going to change. It’s not merely my opinion. It’s obviously also the opinion of the psychologist. It was, frankly, one of the worst psychosexual evaluations I’ve ever seen — antisocial personality disorder with masochistic and sadist tendencies is not good, as the court well knows,” said Marshall.

Bonner County Deputy Public Defender Susie Jensen recommended concurrent 10- to 25-year prison terms, noting that Furtney has no prior criminal record and his risk of re-offending was classified as “moderate.” She also emphasized that Furtney had no malicious intent.

“There never was any intent to cause them harm,” she said.

Furtney recognized that his former wife and his other children wanted him to be imprisoned for the rest of his life, a proposition he didn’t necessarily oppose.

“I read the statements of my past wife (and children) and it breaks my heart. I feel for them,” said Furtney.

Although the resiliency of Furtney’s children was a recurring theme during the hearing, Gibler said the harm done to them is doubtless.

“One thing I am convinced of is your actions toward your children will affect them greatly for the rest of their lives,” said Gibler, who called the facts in the case “disturbing.”

Gibler admitted that he had difficulty understanding how a parent could inflict such harm on their children.

“Given the facts before me, protection of society is an overriding concern,” said Gibler.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.