Man aquitted of felony sex crimes but sentenced for misdemeanor battery
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BLACKFOOT — A Blackfoot man was sentenced for battery after a jury acquitted him of two sex crimes.
Jerry Lee Scott, 70, was placed on two years of probation on Aug. 23 after being convicted in April of misdemeanor battery. Scott was also originally charged with felony forcible penetration by use of foreign object and felony sexual exploitation of a child, but a Bingham County jury acquitted the man of the felony charges.
District Judge Darren Simpson handed down the sentence while ordering the man to pay $3,273.74 in fees and fines. Simpson also suspended 170 days of a 180-day jail sentence. Scott was credited for the 10 days he spent behind bars after his arrest in February 2020. If he violates his probation a judge could force him to serve the full jail time.
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Investigators began looking into Scott after his wife suspected him of participating in illegal activities. Around the same time, a woman with developmental disabilities came forward with allegations of sex abuse in 2015. The acquittal related to these abuse charges.
The battery charge reads that Scott “actually, intentionally and unlawfully” touched the victim against her will.