Man gets prison for violating probation

COEUR d'ALENE - A 40-year-old man was sent to prison for at least 5 years on Friday in Kootenai County District Court.

First District Court Judge Benjamin Simpson imposed a previously suspended sentence for Chase A. Reed, who had pleaded guilty in 2006 to one count of lewd conduct with a minor, said Terri Laird, a Kootenai County deputy prosecutor.

Reed was charged in Kootenai County with two such counts in August 2006, for sexual abuse against his girlfriend's daughter, Laird said.

In October 2006, Reed was sentenced to prison, but that sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation, she said.

He also was on probation in Spokane County for rape of a child, stemming from conduct with the same child, Laird said. Earlier this year, he was charged in Spokane County with failure to register as a sex offender, she said.

Reed, the woman and her daughter lived in Kootenai County and then Spokane County from 2001, when the girl was 9 years old, to 2005.

Laird said a probation violation hearing that ended last week in Kootenai County showed that Reed has been living with another woman and her child, "showing a pattern of grooming" victims.

Reed has been living in Spokane County, she said.

Laird said Simpson decided Reed "was too much of a risk to the community," leading the judge to impose the suspended sentence from 2006.

Now, Reed could serve up to 20 years. He's eligible for parole after five years.

Reed's attorney, Martin Neils, wasn't reached immediately for comment.