Man sentenced after taking Alford plea in alleged sexual assault of 10-year-old

A 45-year-old man was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty by Alford plea, to allegedly sexually assaulting a young girl while she was at his home, in front of her siblings as they played with a VR headset.

Johnny Whitaker was sentenced by District Judge Michael Whyte to a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 years in prison. Whyte then suspended that sentence, and placed Whitaker on a four-year probationary term.

He will not be required to register as a sex offender, but was ordered to spend 90 days in county jail with five days of credit for time already served.

A no-contact order was issued for the victim for 10 years, and Whitaker will not be allowed to have contact with any females under the age of 18 without supervision. He will also be required to complete 100 hours of community service.

Whitaker was initially charged with felony lewd conduct with a child under 16 years old. He later accepted a plea agreement, where he agreed to take an Alford plea to an amended charge of felony injury to a child, if the prosecution agreed to recommend probation of no more than three years and a period of local jail time at sentencing.

An Alford plea is a guilty plea in which Whitaker continues to assert his innocence but admits that a jury would likely find him guilty based on the evidence presented.

Read the rest on EastIdahoNews.com

Social Media