An all-male Blaine County jury deliberated for four hours Friday before finding Brian Jake Adamson guilty of sexual abuse of a minor child under 16. Adamson was accused of having sex last October with a 13-year-old foster child who was living at the time with Adamson's parents in Carey.
The crime is punishable in Idaho by up to 25 years in prison.
The jury found Adamson, a 20-year-old Carey man, not guilty of lewd conduct with a minor child under 16, an offense punishable in Idaho by up to life behind bars.
Fifth District Court Judge Barry Wood gave the jury the option to determine Adamson's innocence or guilt on the lesser charge in instructions he provided before deliberations started.
The case went to the jury at about 10:30 a.m. The verdict was delivered in court just before 3 p.m.
Closing arguments were made Friday morning, the third day of the trial. Jury selection took place on Wednesday, followed by testimony on Thursday.
Called to testify for the prosecution were Blaine County Sheriff's Detective Steve Harkins, the foster child and Bryson Ellsworth, a 23-year-old Carey man who was a friend of Adamson's.
Adamson testified for the defense.
With no physical evidence to examine, the jury had to rely mainly on the credibility of the witnesses.
Adamson testified that he was a student at the College of Southern Idaho but that he was in Carey the weekend of Oct. 19, 2007, staying at his parents' home.
The girl admitted in court that she had a "crush" on Adamson, who said in his testimony that he was trying to discourage her advances. He said he was trying to avoid her at a Carey High School football game that night. He admitted that he had been drinking and that he awoke the following morning to find the girl in bed with him.
"My client said he never touched her," said public defender Kevin Cassidy.
The girl testified earlier Thursday that Adamson had sexual intercourse with her, either in his pickup truck near the Carey water tower or later in a bedroom at the Adamson home. She said she was intoxicated that night and didn't have a clear memory of all that occurred.
Ellsworth testified that Adamson told him on Oct. 19 that he had already "made out" with the girl and further said that Adamson bragged the following day that he'd had sexual intercourse with her.
Cassidy said his client was the most credible of the witnesses.
"Credibility is what this case is really about," he said.
Cassidy said prosecution witnesses, including the girl and Ellsworth, were sometimes evasive in their answers, or inconsistent or uncertain about details.
Referring to the girl, Cassidy said: "The fact she sat there with a smug look on her face indicates that she didn't take anything seriously during her testimony. You've got to stop and ask yourself what the heck is going on here where you have all these inconsistencies."
Cassidy said Ellsworth was heavily intoxicated the evening of Oct. 19 and was badly hung over when he talked to Adamson the following day.
"He'd drank the equivalent of a 12-pack of beer by then so there was probably a lot of things that the witness was not observing correctly that evening," Cassidy said.
Cassidy argued that the girl only admitted to having sex with Adamson after Detective Harkins threatened her with jail.
"It doesn't fit any protocol for interviewing child witnesses," Cassidy said.
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback said the girl had lived as a foster child in the home of Craig and Betty Adamson for only a short time.
"Her vulnerability is what's important here," Fredback said. "More than anything she was looking for attention. He (Adamson) saw her vulnerability and he preyed on her with a goal of what he had in mind later.
"The victim may not have been able to remember all the details of what happened that night because the defendant got her drunk," Fredback said.
Wood advised the jury that consent was not to be considered as a factor in their deliberations. He further told the panel that a guilty verdict must be "beyond a reasonable doubt, not a near possible doubt."
"In this case your verdict must be unanimous," the judge said.
Sentencing was scheduled for 9 a.m. on Oct. 28.
Brian Jake Adamson, at right, confers with his attorney, Kevin Cassidy, during his trial last week on a felony charge of lewd conduct with a minor child under 16. An all-male jury deliberated for four hours Friday before finding Adamson guilty of a lesser offense of sexual abuse of a minor child under 16. Photo by David N. Seelig
