Prison is ordered in lewd, child porn case

SANDPOINT — A Bonner County man was given concurrent 13- and 10-year prison terms Monday for molesting a teenager and possessing child pornography.

Steven John Kearl, 43, will have to serve at least three years of the terms before he can be considered for parole, according to the terms of the sentence imposed by 1st District Judge Barbara Buchanan.

Kearl was charged originally charged with two counts of lewd and lascivious conduct, one count sexual abuse of a child under the age of 16 and 24 counts of possession of sexually exploitive material.

In a pretrial settlement agreement, Kearl pleaded guilty to one count of lewd conduct and one count of child porn possession. In exchange for the pleas, the remaining counts were dismissed, court records show.

The charges against Kearl surfaced in January, when the alleged victim disclosed that he had been touching her inappropriately for years. The child porn charges emerged after a search of a personal computer and tablet computer turned up images and videos depicted prepubescent, preteen and teenaged girls in erotic poses or engaged in sex acts with adults, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The alleged victim, now 16, told the court that Kearl had long treated her as a sex object and said she would not feel safe unless Kearl was imprisoned.

“I’ve lived with the abuse nearly all my life,” she said as Ken, the courthouse dog, sat quietly beside her to provide a measure of comfort during the proceeding.

The teen has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and insomnia.

“I accept responsibility for my actions and the profound effect they’ve had on (the alleged victim),” said Kearl, who said he was amenable to change.

The state and the defense disagreed on a sex offender evalutaion which recommended retained jurisdiction, which would qualify Kearl for release onto probation after serving up to a year in prison.

Deputy Public Defender Susie Jensen said the recommendation was apt because Kearl had no prior criminal history, was considered a low recidivism risk and is seeking sex offender and alcohol abuse treatment.

“I know Mr. Kearl deeply, deeply regrets what happenend,” said Jensen.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall objected to the recommendation given the seriousness of the charges and called for concurrent sentences of seven to 20 years on the lewd conduct charge and five to 10 years on the child porn charge.

“Retribution is a factor that the court should take into account,” Marshall said, referring to one of the sentencing goals in Idaho.

Buchanan declined to retain jurisdiction due to the lasting impacts on the alleged victim.

“I can’t think of another crimes other than murder that takes so much from a victim,” said Buchanan.

Buchanan imposed shorter fixed terms on the sentences due to Kearl’s lack of a prior criminal history and a low risk of recidivism.