Man gets rider for child sexual battery
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IDAHO FALLS – An Idaho Falls man was sentenced after attempting to solicit sex from a teenager.
Shaun Shaffer, 40, pleaded guilty to one count of felony child sexual battery. He initially pleaded not guilty but accepted a plea agreement in September, where he agreed to plead guilty in exchange for the prosecution recommending a unified sentence of 15 years in prison.
Shaffer was sentenced on Thursday by Judge Michael Whyte to four to 15 years in prison.
Whyte retained jurisdiction, meaning Shaffer will instead complete a rider treatment program.
Once the six-month to one-year program is finished, the judge can decide to send Shaffer back to prison for the full term or release him on probation.
In February 2021, Idaho Falls Police were alerted that a 16-year-old girl had been receiving messages that were “sexual in nature” from a 37-year-old man, identified as Shaffer.
Court documents do not indicate how police learned of the messages or how he and the victim knew each other, but the documents indicate in graphic detail things Shaffer said he wanted to do with the victim.
Shaffer would apologize to the victim when she said no and would tell her she just got him “worked up,” according to court documents.
Officers tried to contact Shaffer at the time but could never get in contact him. A warrant was eventually issued for his arrest in June 2021.
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