Out-of-state trucker charged with rape of Idaho Falls woman
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IDAHO FALLS — An Indiana man is facing rape charges after a woman reported to deputies that he had forced himself on her after meeting on a dating app.
Amit Balda, 29, of Indianapolis, was charged with felony rape, where resistance is overcome by force or violence, and misdemeanor sexual battery.
According to court documents, on Aug. 25, a Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office deputy was reviewing a case involving a 22-year-old victim and Balda.
The incident occurred on March 7, 2025. According to the victim, she met the 29-year-old through a dating site, and they were merely acquaintances.
When she met with Balda in person, she drove to the 4000 block of East Lincoln Road, where his semi-truck was parked.
Seeing another man in the truck, the victim got inside the truck, and it was there that Balda allegedly sexually assaulted her. The other individual did not get involved.
During the assault, she told Balda no and attempted to push him off of her, but the alleged rape continued.
When she left, the victim said she went to the Idaho Falls Community Hospital, where a sexual assault exam was conducted, and the incident was reported to the authorities.
Deputies went to the location where the semi-truck was reported and found it still parked where the victim had reported it.
The document states that deputies knocked on the semi’s door, and two men came out, one of whom was identified as Balda. Speaking with Balda, deputies reported that the man’s Indiana driver’s license does not list a last name.
When recounting to deputies what had occurred, Balda confirmed that he did know the victim and that they had met through a dating app. The two had met approximately five to six months prior to the incident.
He said that when the victim came to the truck, they only talked before she left without her coat.
When informed of the victim’s allegations against him, he denied that anything had happened. Balda gave consent for the deputies to get swabs from his mouth for DNA.
The deputies asked Balda again if anything had happened between him and the victim, and he said that the victim began to talk before she began to make advances on him.
When asked what the victim did to show this, Balda said she took off her coat and lifted her pant leg.
The document states that Balda agreed to have deputies search his truck, and three blankets and a black jacket were seized.
Comparing the DNA testing done on the swabs collected from Balda and the sexual assault examination from the victim resulted in strong support for Balda’s DNA on the victim’s private areas.
An arrest warrant was issued for Balda on Oct. 3, and the man was arrested on Jan. 7, at which time he appeared for his initial appearance on Jan. 8.
He is scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing at 1 p.m. on Jan. 21 before Magistrate Judge Michael Kirkham.
Though Balda has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. If he is found guilty, he faces up to life in prison.