Man sentenced to prison after committing sex acts with boy

IDAHO FALLS — A man who pleaded guilty to committing sex acts with a boy was sentenced to prison Monday.

Stacey Pearson, 48, was given five years fixed and 20 years indeterminate for one count of lewd conduct with a minor.

Court documents show that the boy was 12 years old when the sexual abuse began in February 2013. The abuse continued until February 2017.

The boy was present during Pearson’s sentencing. He initially planned to read his victim impact statement during the sentencing but felt uncomfortable while being there. He asked for Bonneville County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tanner Crowther to present what he had written.

“The things that the enemy did to me was unacceptable and crossed the line. I’m going to counseling more because I have flashbacks on what the enemy did to me,” Crowther read.

The statement read that because of this situation he had lost some family members that were close to him.

“I’m so embarrassed. I will never, ever forgive the enemy for this. I hope he gets what he deserves,” Crowther read.

Following the victim impact statement, District Judge Dane Watkins took defense attorney Rocky Wixom’s recommendation.

While understanding that the underlying charge was heavy, Wixom asked the judge to consider giving Pearson a rider. A rider is a one-year treatment program, in addition to a sentence. Upon completion of the rider, the judge reviews the defendant’s case and determines if the sentence should be imposed or if the defendant should be placed on probation.

“We think that makes sense, coupled with the consideration that he’s now been incarcerated for 12 months. He’s already had a year of penalty that he’s paid for this,” Wixom presented in court.

Wixom said that he does have the capacity to have a stable relationship based on results from a psychosexual evaluation and from the fact he’s been in one in the past.

Pearson’s parents and fiancée were also at the hearing and were visibly emotional.

“Mr. Pearson showed no clear clinically significant concerns in the following areas: his capacity for relationship stability, general social rejection, sex as coping, hostility toward women, or emotional identification with children,” Wixom read from the evaluation.

The evaluation showed a moderate to low level of Pearson reoffending; however, the evaluator found that he needs to engage in treatment.

“The kind of treatment that he’ll benefit the most from isn’t going to be in custody, isn’t going to be in prison — it’s going to be treatment in the community while he’s learning the coping skills,” Wixom said in court.

Crowther reminded the court that these sex crimes began when the victim was a child and were not an isolated incident. He noted there were parts of the evaluation where Pearson didn’t take responsibility for his crimes and blamed the child for his actions.

Instead, Crowther recommended a 25-year sentence with 6 years fixed and 19 years indeterminate.

“I’m going to ask the court to… fashion a sentence that recognizes the serious nature of this crime,” Crowther said.

Before being sentenced Pearson made a final statement.

“I feel horrible for what happened, I’m sorry for what happened,” Pearson said.

He continued by saying he’d been to prison and was successful after 10 years of probation.

“I believe if I did get a rider, some probation, your honor, I could be successful,” Pearson said. “I just want to get out of here, I want to get home to my family and I want to better my life, you know what I mean?”

Watkins said he felt the apology was sincere but had to recognize the significant age difference between the defendant and the victim as well as the fact that Pearson was a frequent offender. He said that consequences follow from mistakes.

“Mr. Pearson I think that your counsel and you have sincerely asked for the retained jurisdiction. It’s not something that the court is comfortable with,” Watkins said. “Prison is the necessary sentence.”