Lemhi man faces multiple felony charges for lewd conduct with children, some dating back to 2005
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IDAHO FALLS — A Lemhi man, who currently faces allegations of lewd conduct with a child in Fremont, has been charged with similar counts out of Lemhi, dating back to 2005.
FREMONT
On August 22, 2024, court documents say two deputies with the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office responded to a mother in Ashton who said her daughter, a 15-year-old, had been inappropriately touched by William Wegner, 54.
A deputy spoke with the 15-year-old, who confirmed what the mother had reported. The daughter said it had been occurring for the past three years.
A few days later, the girl told police the last time Wegner had touched her happened before the mother’s initial report.
The girl said Wegner told her a year earlier that he’d stop and get better, but the incidents had still occurred.
Wegner was charged with two felony counts of lewd conduct of a child and two felony counts of child sexual abuse of a minor.
He is scheduled to appear for a jury trial before District Judge Steven Boyce on August 6 at 9 a.m.
If he is found guilty, he faces up to life in prison.
LEMHI
According to court documents, four victims had reached out to the Lemhi County Sheriff’s Office in August 2024, and in February and April of this year over allegations that Wegner had inappropriately touched them.
In August 2024, the first victim said Wegner inappropriately touched her four years earlier.
When Wegner was arrested in November, he alleged the victim would “inappropriately rub against him,” and denied ever touching the victim.
The second victim contacted the sheriff’s office in February and told deputies that in July 2008, Wegner sexually assaulted her.
She told deputies that when she was 15, she stayed at Wegner’s home in Lemhi. She said one incident happened when she walked in Wegner’s house.
On another occasion, the victim said she was smoking marijuana with Wegner and he got on top of her and sexually touched her.
The third victim reached out to deputies in February over a 2005 incident involving Wegner. In April, a fourth victim reported multiple incidents involving Wegner when she was between 5 and 13 years old.
Wegner was drunk at the time, the fourth victim says in court documents.
Wegner has been charged with four felony counts of lewd conduct with a child.
He is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Andrew Woolf for a preliminary hearing at 3 p.m. on July 21. If he is found guilty, he faces up to life in prison.
Though Wegner has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.