Man takes plea agreement after being accused of sexually assaulting teen while she slept
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IDAHO FALLS — A 38-year-old man pleaded guilty to an amended felony charge after a 16-year-old girl reported that he had sexually assaulted her.
Joel Hollaway pleaded guilty Tuesday to an amended charge of felony injury to a child.
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Hollaway was initially charged with felony sexual battery of a child committed by lewd or lascivious acts on a minor child 16 to 17 years of age.
As part of a plea agreement, Hollaway admitted to the amended charge and agreed to state the following at sentencing: “On the night of Nov. 17, 2023, I, Joel Hollaway, was accused by (the victim) of sexually assaulting her. (The victim) has always been an honest person, and I do not think she would lie about this situation.”
The plea agreement is not binding on the court, meaning the judge is not required to agree with either party’s recommendations for sentencing, which are not specified in the agreement.
Hollaway is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 5. If convicted, he could face up to ten years in prison.
Case details
In November 2023, a detective with the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office was asked to look into a Tri-County investigation out of Bonneville County, after a 16-year-old girl’s mother reported that Hollaway had sexually assaulted her daughter.
According to the woman, her daughter had texted her that Holloway had sexually assaulted her at his home.
Police reports state that Holloway had touched the victim inappropriately while she was sleeping.
Deputies arrived at Holloway’s home and spoke with him. He stated he had fallen asleep on the couch, woken up, and gone to his bed, then was awoken by the deputies at the door.
While interviewing the victim, deputies say she was “visibly upset” and crying. She told deputies she “acted like she was asleep on the couch” while Holloway was assaulting her.
She was reportedly “scared because when (Holloway) gets mad, it is not good.”
According to court documents, Holloway repeatedly tried to pull the victim’s pants off, and she continually pulled them back up. Eventually, the victim says Holloway “became aggressive and would forcefully throw her hands away to prevent pulling her pants up.”
The victim says she pretended to wake up and went to the bathroom to text her mother and tell her what happened.
Holloway was then detained for further investigation.
He refused to answer any more questions from deputies without an attorney present. He was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on a bond of $250,000, and a no-contact order was issued for the victim.