Man gets life without parole for child sexual abuse

COEUR d’ALENE — A man will spend the rest of his life in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child.

Timothy J. Gutierrez, 36, pleaded guilty in November 2023 to lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 16, injury to a child and two counts of sexual exploitation of a child by possession of sexually exploitative material, all felonies.

First District Judge John Mitchell sentenced Gutierrez this week to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the maximum possible sentence for lewd conduct with a child. Gutierrez also received 10-year sentences for each of the other three charges, also the maximum possible, to be served concurrently with his life sentence.

The charges stem from December 2022, when police received a tip that Gutierrez was sexually abusing a child, who later disclosed the abuse to authorities. The child described multiple instances of sexual abuse inflicted by Gutierrez over a period of several years.

While the investigation was ongoing in early 2023, Gutierrez was arrested on unrelated felony charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.

Police obtained a warrant for Gutierrez’s cellphone. The device contained child sexual abuse materials, including numerous images of prepubescent children engaged in sex acts with adults, according to court records.

In exchange for Gutierrez’s guilty pleas, prosecutors agreed to dismiss five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, as well as to dismiss the separate felony drug possession case in its entirety.

Gutierrez had multiple previous felony convictions, according to the Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. In 2005, Gutierrez was charged in juvenile court with lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 16 and later pleaded guilty. Prosecutors said he committed the abuse when he was 17 years old.

In 2015, Gutierrez received a 12-year prison sentence for trafficking heroin, a felony. He was later released on parole.

After pleading guilty in 2019 to eluding, a felony, after he reportedly fled police during a traffic stop, Gutierrez was placed on probation.

Prosecutors said Gutierrez violated the terms of his probation in 2020 and was placed in a prison treatment program, called a rider, before going back on probation. He reportedly violated the terms of his probation again in 2022, when he pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine, a felony.

During sentencing Tuesday, Mitchell also imposed Gutierrez’s underlying sentences in the eluding and drug possession cases.

If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual abuse or domestic violence, call Safe Passage Violence Prevention Center’s 24-hour hotline: 208-664-9303.