Woman is sentenced in lewd case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County woman accused of allowing her boyfriend to prey on and impregnate a child in her care was ordered Thursday to serve up to 11 years in prison.

Sheenagh Elizabeth Adams will have to serve six years of the sentence before she becomes eligible for parole. Adams wept and put her head down on the defense table as 1st District Judge Barbara Buchanan imposed the sentence.

“You need prison. That’s all there is to it,” Buchanan told Adams.

A Bonner County grand jury indicted Adams last year on charges of felony injury to a child and aiding and abetting lewd conduct committed by her boyfriend, William Scott Wegner. Wegner, who was indicted on charges of lewd conduct and rape, fled to Arizona prior to his bench trial. Adams was subsequently charged with harboring a fugitive and compounding a crime by hindering prosecution after she admitted knowing of his whereabouts and providing him with money earlier this year.

Adams, 36, entered an Alford plea to the child endangerment charge, meaning she admits no wrongdoing but concedes she could be convicted of the offense if the case went before a jury. In exchange for the plea, the aiding and abetting charge was dismissed. She pleaded guilty to the harboring charge and the compounding charge was dismissed in exchange for the plea.

The alleged abuses occurred while the couple was living near Clagstone and at Priest Lake between 2017 and 2019. The alleged victim was between the ages of 12 and 14.

The couple fell under scrutiny after allegations surfaced that Wegner had molested a 6-year-old girl.

That child’s mother testified during the sentencing hearing that she had seen worrisome conduct between Wegner and the older victim, such as accompanying her to the bathroom, sharing a bed and dressing her. It also emerged that Wegner insisted on showering with the girl and he inspected her vagina at one point to try and determine if her hymen was intact.

The elder victim was also apparently made to believe she was autistic and had hypoglycemia, although an Idaho Department of Health & Welfare caseworker testified that there was no evidence she suffered from either condition.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Rodriguez argued that Wegner was undeniably evil, but the evil exhibited by Adams was a rarer form because she put her needs above the child’s by sacrificing her to satisfy the lust of a pervert.

“It’s a very unusual kind of evil,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez described Adams as a master manipulator and inveterate liar. He recommended a five- to 10-year term on the child injury charge and a five-year term on the harboring charge. Rodriquez further recommended the sentences be served consecutively rather than concurrently.

Chief Public Defender Susie Jensen said Wegner meticulously groomed both Adams and the girl.

“All this is happening slowly and insidiously over the years,” said Jensen.

Jensen further argued that Adams was unaware Wegner was sexually abusing the girl. Jensen recommended a period of local incarceration or retained jurisdiction, which could qualify Adams for release onto probation after serving a year in prison.

Adams described being isolated and stranded without money or a vehicle when she was living with Wegner.

“I didn’t know anything was going on at that point,” said Adams, referring to Wegner’s misconduct.

Buchanan said there were ample red flags and Adams failed in her duty to protect the child.

“I see absolutely not one bit of empathy,” Buchanan added.

Buchanan ordered Adams to serve a three- to six-year term on the child injury charge, followed by a three- to five-year term on the harboring charge.

Wegner, 41, was apprehended in St. Johns, Ariz., in March and subsequently entered Alford pleas to one count of rape and one count of lewd conduct. The lewd conduct charge involving the 6-year-old girl was dismissed in exchange for the pleas. The girl’s mother was distraught at her inability to address Adams or Wegner in court.

The woman said her daughter and the elder victim were saddled with life sentences because of the abuse and argued Adams and Wegner should receive commensurate sentences.

“You should have to spend the rest of your life paying for it,” the woman said during a break in the proceedings.

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