Blackfoot, Idaho “avid church-goer” Eric Jones was sentenced on Mar. 26 to two to 20 years in prison after being found guilty by a jury of felony battery with intent to commit lewd conduct with a minor.
He reportedly said he’d “just given into his urges” by touching a toddler.
He admitted his crime to an LDS church leader. We’re trying to find out what the local LDS bishops or leaders knew and when.
On Mar. 26, the 43-year-old Blackfoot, Idaho LDS church member was sentenced to two to 20 years in prison for touching an 18-month-old. More details in the East Idaho News article.
You can watch the entire 1-hour sentencing video there as well.
At the sentencing, the accused’s lawyer argued for him be placed on probation, saying the man has been seeking treatment for his “urges” for multiple years and that he admitted the crime to his LDS church leader. According to the lawyer, the accused “is a positive influence and deserves to return home,” despite allegations that he sexually assaulted two other victims in the same way.
The accused tearfully read a statement to the court in which he said is an “avid church-goer,” and has completed an addiction recovery course.
“What I did four years ago was wrong. It was wrong and immoral,” he said.
“The past four years, I have not repeated the offense and have worked hard to adjust my thoughts and actions so that I can be a strength and blessing to my family and community.”
The judge noted that the victim was too young (18 months old) to protect herself or report the abuse, and most likely does not remember what happened, and thus may need counseling “for the rest of (her) life.”
If you have any information about this case, or would like to report abuse by an LDS church member, please go to https://floodlit.org/report-abuse/. Thank you for shining a light.
We have published over 735 case reports so far, where people were accused of sex crimes they did or allegedly did while active in the LDS church. We expect to surpass 1,000 published reports this year.
