Trial set in sexual assault case

SANDPOINT – A Bonner County man has been ordered to stand trial in a 2019 lewd conduct case.

The suspect pled not guilty last week for one count of molestation and two counts of rape in First District Court. Trial for Daniel Issac Newill, 20, is set for October, 12, 2021.

In his initial appearance on April 28, Newill’s bond was set at $15,000, and his case waived into adult court.

According to court documents, charges in question occurred on a family friend’s property in August 2019. Newill, who was 17 at the time, is accused of assaulting the victim around 4 a.m. on the pullout couch where they, and the victim’s friend were sleeping.

The Daily Bee does not identify the alleged victims in sexual assault cases.

In addition to the first alleged assault, a second assault happened that same day around noon, according to court documents. Newill said the victim introduced herself as 15 years of age, court records show.

The legal age of consent in Idaho is 16.

Newill told the Bonner County Sheriff’s Office Victim Advocate coordinator that he believed there was a single consensual encounter between himself and the victim.

After that weekend, the victim told a deputy that Newill had stalked her. She told the deputy that Newill visited locations that she had previously been, including her mother’s house, and sent her messages that referenced her present location.

Within the next week, Newill drove to the victim’s residence, court records allege he assaulted her a third time.

Newill turned 18 years old two weeks after the third alleged attack. Newill told the victim advocate that he never had sex with the victim after that point.

This case is not the only allegation against Newill, according to court records “Daniel had numerous reports through several regional law enforcement agencies which named him as a suspect in several sex offenses,” Barry Reinink said in an affidavit, “In these cases, victims were girls that ranged in age from 7 to 14.”

The cases took place in Kootenai and Bonner counties between 2019 and 2020, court records show.

Newill was bound over for trial in Idaho’s First District Court on October 12. A pre-trial hearing will be in September.

In her initial statement to a Kootenai County Sheriff’s deputy, the victim said she did not come forward sooner because Newill said he would kill himself if she told anyone. However, she decided to come forward after she heard other people describe similar things happening to them.

One out of 5 Idaho men, and 2 out of 5 Idaho women experience sexual assault, according to Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. In some cases, there is no limit for when these offenses can be reported.

The Idaho Care Line can be reached by calling 211.

The National Sexual Assault Hotline number is 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).