Idaho man headed to trial for alleged sex crime

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An Idaho man accused of sexually assaulting an elderly woman earlier this year will be scheduled for trial next month.

At a pretrial conference Wednesday at the Stark County Courthouse, Stark County State’s Attorney Jim Hope said Nick Jay Webster, 24, an Idaho native who is residing in Dickinson, was made a plea offer. The proposal was rejected, Hope said.

Hope added that Webster’s attorney, Carey Ann Goetz, filed a Miranda motion that her client may have made statements to law enforcement because his Miranda rights were violated.

Hope said Goetz also included two DVDs of interviews with Dickinson Police Department officers. Hope agreed to respond to the motion by Friday.

Goetz has also requested an evidentiary hearing on behalf of her client.

Webster is accused of one count of Class A felony gross sexual imposition, one count of Class B felony burglary and one count of Class C felony interference with a telephone during an emergency call.

Webster allegedly entered an 83-year-old woman’s house at about 1 a.m. March 10 with the intent of committing a sexual crime against her, according to the criminal complaint.

He is accused of touching the victim’s genitals, according to the criminal complaint.

During this time, it is also alleged in the complaint that the victim attempted to contact law enforcement, but Webster prevented her from doing so by intentionally grabbing the phone away from her, according to the complaint.

Webster is alleged to have fled on foot after the incident.

He pleaded not guilty to all three charges at a hearing in May and waived his rights to a preliminary hearing.

He is held at the Southwest Multi-County Correction Center on a $200,000 bond and his trial is Nov. 14.

If he is found guilty of all three charges, Webster faces a maximum punishment of 35 years in prison and a $25,000 fine.

Hope informed the court that the victim had a hip replacement and is expected to be ready in time for the trial, but he wanted the court to know in case it causes a setback.

Tags: sexual imposition, news, court, idaho, dickinson