Samuel Arthur Baugh

Sources

1. Kingston man faces sex abuse charges, Shoshone News-Press, September 26, 2025.

• 1. Kingston man faces sex abuse charges

  • 26 Sep 2025
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  • Shoshone News-Press

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  WALLACE – A Kingston man has been charged with numerous sex crimes, including rape and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child under the age of 16.

  Samuel Baugh, 42, was arrested on Monday after the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office was notified by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare of a possible sexual abuse case where one of the potential victims was residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, while another may still be in Shoshone County.

  Deputy Eric Bowman contacted the Las Vegas Police requesting assistance with an interview with the potential victim, age 19, who had relocated to the area as part of a mission through their church.

  Both victims’ interviews were documented in the probable cause affidavit, which detailed years of alleged abuse.

  According to the first victim, Baugh had been abusing them since they were five years old. The second victim, age 16, alleged that they didn’t necessarily remember the age, but stated that they were young when the abuse began.

  In both cases, the abuse reportedly began as just touching, but over the years it escalated to more severe sexual acts and had occurred as recently as September 19.

  During his first appearance in court on Thursday, Shoshone County Deputy Prosecutor Britney Jacobs requested that, due to the nature of the accusations and the potential penalties of those accusations, Baugh’s bond be set at $300,000.

  Trish Espeland, Baugh’s court-appointed attorney, argued against such a high bond amount, citing the accused’s age, church involvement, and financial struggles as reasons to keep the amount low.

  “He is 42 years old. He has never been in trouble before,” Espeland said. “He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; he attends church every Sunday at the ward in Pinehurst. He has been pretty cooperative. My client is unlikely to be able to post a bail at all because he is so financially strained that even a $10,000 bond is not one he’d be able to post.”

  Ultimately, Magistrate Keisha Oxendine sided with Jacobs, who had concerns over Baugh fleeing because he now had nowhere to go due to a no-contact order Oxendine imposed as part of Baugh’s conditions of release.

  Capt. Seth Green with the SCSO said that cases like these are not uncommon, where the accused has a relatively clean record, but years of abuse are later uncovered. However, he did say that this case was “one of the most twisted instances of grooming he’d ever seen.”

  Baugh faces potential maximum sentences of life in prison for both the rape and the lewd conduct charges.

  The full list of Baugh’s charges can be found online at www.icourt.idaho.gov.

  If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual abuse, contact the Shoshone County Crisis and Resource Center at (208) 556-0500, or visit their website at www.sccrcenter.org. You can also reach Safe Passage 24/7 by calling (208) 664-9303 or texting 208-449-7228.