Man gets probation in child injury case

POST FALLS — A man who pleaded guilty to grabbing a 13-year-old boy by the neck will spend time on probation.

Adam K. Bortfeld, 48, of Post Falls, pleaded guilty in July to injury to a child, a felony, and to domestic battery in the presence of a child, a misdemeanor.

The charges stem from April 17, when police responded to a report of a domestic disturbance at a Post Falls home.

At the scene, a woman who identified herself as Bortfeld’s girlfriend said Bortfeld raped her in the garage before dragging her into the bedroom.

Bortfeld then forced a 13-year-old family member to go into the bedroom with them, she said.

He allegedly shut the woman and teen in the bedroom with him for several hours.

The teen told police Bortfeld grabbed him by the throat and pinned him to the bed.

Bortfeld later denied choking the boy but acknowledged grabbing him by the back of his neck.

The woman said she escaped the bedroom and fled to the home of a neighbor, who called police.

The teen also called 911, according to court documents, and told dispatch he thought Bortfeld had broken the woman’s wrist.

Bortfeld left the scene before police arrived.

A judge issued a warrant for Bortfeld’s arrest on charges of rape, second-degree kidnapping, injury to a child and domestic battery in the presence of a child.

In Idaho, injury to a child occurs when a person willfully causes or permits a child to be placed in a position that causes or is likely to cause great bodily injury, suffering or death.

After Bortfeld was taken into custody April 30, Judge Clark Peterson ordered he be held on $750,000 bail.

Judge Robert Caldwell later granted a motion to lower Bortfeld’s bail to $250,000.

The state dismissed the rape and kidnapping charges as part of a plea agreement. Bortfeld pleaded guilty to the remaining charges.

First District Judge Rich Christensen sentenced Bortfeld last week to six years in prison, with two years fixed and four indeterminate.

Christensen then suspended the sentence and placed Bortfeld on supervised probation for three-and-a-half years.

He also imposed a 230-day jail sentence, with credit for the 143 days Bortfeld had spent in jail as of sentencing.

Bortfeld must pay around $2,275 in court fees and civil penalties to the boy.

A no contact order forbids Bortfeld from contacting his former girlfriend or the child.