70-year-old man arrested after woman says he sexually assaulted her five years ago
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BLACKFOOT — Police arrested a Blackfoot man after a woman claimed he went into her room and sexually assaulted her while she slept years ago.
The man at the center of the allegations is 70-year-old Jerry Lee Scott. He was arrested Tuesday for felony forcible penetration by use of foreign object and felony sexual exploitation of a child. According to an affidavit of probable cause, police were alerted in December 2019 by Scott’s wife who suspected him searching for child pornography on his phone.
Around the same time, a woman with developmental delays came forward about two alleged incidents in 2015 where Scott came into her bedroom and began sexually assaulting her while she slept, documents detail. In a January interview, the victim, who functions at the same mental capacity of a 12-year-old girl, said she awoke to find Scott’s hands in her pants.
“Jerry stopped, removed his hands from underneath her clothing and left the room without saying anything,” a detective writes in their report.
Detectives first spoke with Scott on Jan. 16 after obtaining a search warrant for the cell phone allegedly used to view child pornography. Searches included “pre-teen girls” and “10 to 12-year-old girls.” The detectives asked Scott about the searches and he “admitted that he had been searching on his phone specifically for child pornography.” During this interview, he denied the allegations the woman made.
Five days later, police spoke with Scott again and “he did in fact remember going into (the victim’s) bedroom,” while describing in detail the sexual assault. The account described in court documents matched the victim’s but in greater detail.
A judge set Scott’s bail at $50,000. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on Feb. 20 at the Bingham County Courthouse.