Plea hearing is postponed

SANDPOINT — A Sagle man charged with engaging in lewd and lascivious conduct with a minor appears to be contemplating a guilty plea.

James LeMar Parton was to be arraigned on Monday in 1st District, but the hearing was postponed so the defense can obtain a mental health evaluation, which attorney Jeremy Featherston said in court documents would be a “significant factor at sentencing.”

Parton, 47, remains held at the Bonner County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.

Parton, charging papers allege, molested a preteen girl in Bonner County from April 2012 to April of this year. The girl was between the ages of 11 and 12 at the time.