Spirit Lake man convicted of sex abuse

COEUR d'ALENE — A Spirit Lake man faces life in prison in connection to a series of sexual abuse charges that occurred at a home for the elderly last year.

On Friday in Kootenai County District Court, Phillip Ray Smalley, 50, was found guilty of two felony counts of sexual abuse of a vulnerable adult and one count of forcible sexual penetration by a foreign object. Smalley worked as a caretaker for the Rose Terrace Country Homes, an assisted living facility in Spirit Lake, and the crimes were committed against a 102-year-old resident.

Each charge of sexual abuse carries a maximum prison sentence of 25 years, and the third offense can carry a life sentence.

Smalley is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2.

Smalley was arrested Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, in his home without incident. At the time of the arrest, Spirit Lake Police Chief Keith Hutcheson told The Press he didn't know if there were any other victims.

If there were, Hutcheson asked them or their families to contact local authorities. He also told families who have loved ones in assisted living facilities to continually check in with their relatives and to be "cognizant of what's going on."