Sentencing has been delayed for another seven weeks for a 20-year-old Carey man who faces a possible prison term after being found guilty in August of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old foster child.
Fifth District Court Judge Barry Wood granted the continuance Wednesday for Brian Jake Adamson at the request of public defender Kevin Cassidy, who complained that he had not had adequate time to review a "lengthy" pre-sentence investigation report that he only received last week. Furthermore, Cassidy said his client disputes some of the information in the report.
Adamson faces up to 25 years in prison, the maximum penalty in Idaho for sexual assault of a minor child under 16. Adamson was found guilty of the crime by an all-male jury at the conclusion of a three-day trial. He was originally charged with lewd conduct with a minor child under 16, an offense punishable in Idaho by up to life in prison.
"The stakes are high, so I would grant the continuance," Wood said at Wednesday's court hearing. To illustrate his point, Wood said he recently sentenced a man in a similar case in Rupert to 18 years in prison, with three of them to be served before the man is eligible for parole.
Sentencing for Adamson is now scheduled for 2 p.m. on Dec. 23.
Wood raised the point of whether Adamson should be allowed to remain free on $5,000 bail. He granted the status quo after Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Matt Fredback said he had no objection and Cassidy assured the judge that his client would dutifully report for sentencing.
"He's a full-time student at CSI," Cassidy said. "He's not a flight risk whatsoever."
Adamson was arrested in April following a lengthy investigation by the Blaine County Sheriff's Office. He was convicted of sexually assaulting the girl on Oct. 19, 2007. At that time, the girl was a foster child living in Carey at the home of Adamson's parents, Craig and Betty Adamson.
The girl, who testified at Adamson's trial, was later removed from the Adamson home by the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Brian Jake Adamson
