19-year-old charged with lewd conduct

SANDPOINT — A 19-year-old from Sagle has been arrested for allegedly sexually abusing an underage girl at his home.

McCabe Willy B. Huckabee is charged with lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 16. He was scheduled to make an initial appearance in Bonner County Magistrate Court on Thursday via videoconferencing with the jail.

Minutes from the brief hearing, however, were not immediately available.

McCabe is accused of touching the girl's genitals when she asleep or passed out on Dec. 25. The alleged victim told investigators she had smoked cannabis concentrate with McCabe and asked him for a cup of water.

The teen said she began feeling tingling and numbness in her head and extremities within 15 minutes of consuming the water, according to a probable cause affidavit. The teen said when she awoke about two hours later, she discovered her pants were off and she was bleeding.

Initially unbeknownst to McCabe, the teen had started a FaceTime video call with eight other people, but muted the call in a manner which prevented people on the call from being heard, but allowed them to hear her and McCabe, the affidavit said.

When the teen awoke, the call had been ended and those on the call believe McCabe ended it. Several people in the group chat asked if she was ok and expressed concern for her safety, according to court documents.

The teen was examined by a sexual assault nurse examiner at Kootenai Health in Coeur d'Alene and evidence of a laceration and an abrasion on her genitals was documented, court records indicate. A toxicology screen was also administered to determine if she had been drugged, although results were not noted in the court file.

McCabe initially denied there was any physical contact with the teen but when confronted with the results of sexual assault exam, he admitted touching her genitals. He denied drugging the teen or giving her a cup of water, a statement which appears to conflict with the statements of the people who were on the FaceTime call, the affidavit said.

A preliminary hearing in the case is set for Jan. 13. Lewd conduct is punishable by up to life in prison if the state wins a conviction.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee