Three new felony charges have been filed against Christopher D. Pothier, a Hailey man accused of kidnapping and raping his former girlfriend.
Pothier, 29, was charged in June with felony rape and felony first-degree kidnapping. The new charges, filed as an amended complaint earlier this month by the Blaine County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, accuse Pothier of battery with intent to commit a serious felony, forcible sexual penetration by use of a foreign object and destruction or alteration of evidence.
Pothier allegedly abducted his former girlfriend, a 26-year Hailey woman, on the afternoon of June 22 shortly after the woman left the Hailey Police Department on the west side of City Hall on Main Street in downtown Hailey. He allegedly held the woman against her will for several hours and raped her at his home on Winter Fox Lane in southeastern Hailey.
In addition to the rape at his home, Pothier is also accused of battering the woman while she was in his car, a 2004 Pontiac Grand Am. The amended criminal complaint accuses Pothier of "forcing her into the back seat of a car, grabbing her panties and demanding she have sex with him while the victim resisted."
The "forcible sexual penetration" charge accuses Pothier of performing oral sex on the alleged victim. It alleges that the act was committed against her will and with threat of "force or violence." The amended criminal complaint does not specify where the alleged act took place.
Pothier is further charged with destruction or alteration of evidence. A Hailey police report filed in the case alleges that Pothier forced the woman to take a bath after he raped her. The amended criminal complaint accuses him of using his fingers or hand and soap and water to "prevent trace evidence such as semen and or DNA matter from being collected."
Pothier claimed after his arrest in June that he did not have sex with the alleged victim.
The three new charges were unveiled on July 10 when Pothier appeared in Blaine County Magistrate Court for what was scheduled as his preliminary hearing, a courtroom procedure wherein a magistrate judge determines if sufficient evidence exists to order a defendant tried in district court.
Hailey attorney Douglas Nelson, who is representing Pothier, requested that the hearing be rescheduled and his motion was granted. The preliminary hearing is now set for 9 a.m. on Aug. 17.
Nelson also informed the court that Pothier is in the process of changing his name, but at the time was still legally known as Christopher Pothier.
The defendant is currently free on $100,000 bond. A no-contact order has been issued that bars Pothier from contacting or being within 300 feet of the alleged victim.
According to court records, Pothier owns two homes in the Wood River Valley, owns an "all natural jerky" business and makes sales via the Internet.
Christopher D. Pothier
