Jury finds William Ellwood guilty on eight of 12 charges - East Idaho News
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Jury finds William Ellwood guilty on eight of 12 charges

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EDITOR’S NOTE: During the course of the William Ellwood trial, an EastIdahoNews.com reporter was reprimanded by District Judge Bruce Pickett for conversing with a juror. While the conversation was innocent in nature, EastIdahoNews.com recognizes the serious breach in court etiquette, and in the interest of transparency, will publish a full accounting of the incident Monday.

IDAHO FALLS – A local man accused of sex crimes has been found guilty on eight of 12 charges against him.

William Ellwood, 37, was found guilty Saturday on seven felony counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16 and one felony count of sexual abuse of a child in the form of photos taken of the victim.

Ellwood faces a maximum of life in prison for each of the seven counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16. He faces a maximum of 25 years for the count of sexual abuse of a child.

RELATED: Mother of victim testifies in trial of man accused of sex crimes

Bonneville County Deputy Prosecutor John Dewey, told EastIdahoNews.com the jury deliberated for around 11 hours.

“I think it’s pretty clear they went through the evidence and scrutinized it,” he said. “We respect the process and their decision.”

Until discussing the results of the trial with the victim and her family, Dewey is unable to comment on what the state will seek in regards to sentencing.

RELATED: Trial begins for I.F. man charged with multiple counts of sexual abuse

Ellwood’s sentencing is currently set to be held on Dec. 13, in Bonneville county court.

Ellwood was originally charged with ten felony counts of lewd conduct with a minor and one felony count of sexual abuse of a minor in Aug. 2016. He also was charged with one felony count of sexual abuse of a minor in the form of photos taken of the victim.

The sexual abuse took place over five years from the time the victim was 9-years-old to when she turned 14 in 2016. That’s when she told her mother about the assault.

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