IDAHO FALLS — An Iowa man has been sentenced for raping a 14-year-old boy in Idaho Falls in 2015.
Kyle Townsend, 33, was sentenced to 27 years in prison with 12 years fixed and 15 years indeterminate during a hearing in Bonneville County Monday morning. District Judge Dane Watkins also ordered him to pay a $3,000 fine.
Townsend was taken into custody by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 6, 2016, after a year and a half long investigation into the sexual assault of the teenager.
Court documents show that Townsend responded to a Craigslist ad the victim posted in February 2015 asking for a ride to Nevada.
Records show Townsend responded to the ad within minutes and told the teen he would give him a ride for free. Townsend and the boy agreed to meet in the Dillard’s parking lot at the Grand Teton Mall.
The teen told detectives Townsend was driving a blue semi-truck. It was later discovered the vehicle was owned by a local trucking company Townsend worked for at the time.
The teen said he entered Townsend’s truck and they drove for a few minutes before Townsend told him to remove his pants.
Court records show Townsend forced the boy to perform sexual acts and then raped him. The teen reported to police he vomited after the assault and Townsend kicked him out of the truck saying the boy was “too easy.”
Investigators obtained video surveillance that shows the teen being dropped off near the Target parking lot in Ammon. The boy called police and reported he had been kidnapped and raped but later said he lied about being abducted.
When police arrived, they noted the teen was visibly shaken and crying when asked what had happened to him.
Police were able to identify Townsend as a suspect through his cell number and a photo line-up.
Weeks after the assault, another teenage boy contacted police and reported interactions with Townsend.
The teen reported Townsend emailed him nude photos and tried to meet up with him in the Idaho Falls Walmart parking lot. Police obtained a search warrant for Townsend’s email and verified the teen’s report.
An arrest warrant was issued for Townsend in January 2016 and detectives spent months trying to track him down.
He was arrested by Oklahoma law enforcement in September 2016 and extradited to Idaho Falls on in Oct. 2016 by the Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office.