Lewd cases increasing, state statistics show
When a Coeur d’Alene construction worker was convicted this year of lewd and lascivious conduct and sentenced to a long prison term, it was a big win for prosecutors.
Corey McGrath, 32, was sentenced to between 20 years and life for acting out sex scenes he had witnessed on pornographic movies. His victims? Children ages 5 to 12 years old.
While the number of lewd and lascivious cases has increased statewide, the percentage of convictions trails along at around 25 percent, according to statistics from the Idaho Supreme Court.
McGrath’s case illustrates the difficulty in prosecuting cases of lewd and lascivious conduct that occur between adults and children under 16 years old.
“The dynamics are very different,” said Jed Whitaker, Kootenai County deputy prosecutor. “It’s not like a burglary where you have a surveillance camera.”
The crimes happen in secret, and often after years of grooming a child.
In McGrath’s case, the defendant had given one of his victims gonorrhea, evidence that helped seal the case.
Other cases are less black and white, often relying on the testimony of young victims stacked against the denials of alleged perpetrators.
Generally, lewd or lascivious conduct is any sexual contact with a minor under the age of 16 that results from “the intent of arousing or gratifying lust, passions, or sexual desires,” according to state code.
The crime is a felony punishable by up to life in prison.
Child sex cases have always been difficult to process because they happen between an adult and a child behind closed doors. And because federal law — via the Sixth Amendment — guarantees that anyone accused of a crime has the right to confront his or her accusers in court.
The rule puts an emotional strain on children that is difficult to overcome.
“They have to explain the worst day of their life while sitting a few feet away from the abuser,” Whitaker said.
In Idaho’s First District Court, which includes Kootenai County, so far this year 10 percent of the 97 cases charged for lewd and lascivious conduct have resulted in convictions, compared to 27 percent last year.
The low rate is another reflection of the difficulty of child abuse cases, said Rick Cuddihy, a District 2 public defender.
The discrepancy means there are many cases charged this year that have not been adjudicated, Cuddihy said.
“I take a long time on those kind of cases,” he said. “It’s not unusual to take a year to resolve them.”
Additional time often results in a confession, a more thorough examination of the events, amended charges, or a dismissal.
The 97 lewd and lascivious cases logged this year in the First District are the second highest in five years. In 2016, the First District saw 104 cases initially charged as lewd and lascivious conduct. Of those, 28 resulted in convictions, a rate of 27 percent.
Of the 84 cases last year, 27 resulted in convictions — 32 percent — while 25 resulted in convictions on amended charges.
In District 2, which includes Lewiston and Orofino, 31 cases were charged as lewd and lascivious this year, with eight resulting in convictions.
The District 2 conviction rate dropped from 50 percent in 2015 to 21 percent last year.
At the same time, 13 percent resulted in convictions on amended charges, while 21 percent last year were amended for convictions.
District 3, which includes Caldwell, saw 124 cases this year and 26 convictions, while Boise’s District 4 had 179 cases with 43 convictions so far.
Whitaker thinks the law that allows children to be intimidated in court should be re-examined.
Because sex crimes are often family crimes, children are often shamed or pressured into not testifying.
“People don’t tend to believe kids, sometimes,” Whitaker said.
In some districts in Idaho, comfort dogs — dogs allowed to accompany children as they testify — give kids courage in a courtroom.
“We believe people when they say they have been carjacked, or they have been robbed, but for some reason we don’t believe little kids when they say they have been touched,” he said.