Byline: Cassidy Friedman
Jun. 29--JEROME -- When an online sex predator pleaded guilty April 13 to trying to give a young girl her first sexual experience, his conviction gave Jerome County a first of a different sort, too.
From May 2004 until last July, none of 18 men charged with enticing a child over the Internet were convicted. As a result, none are on a sex offender registry list, which tracks offenders their entire lives.
The plea given by Jason Mckain, 29, marks the first online enticement conviction in Jerome County. And coming swiftly after a change in prosecutor, it may indicate online crime prosecutions in Jerome County are catching up to the rest of the Magic Valley counties.
"The case was well on its way before I took over," said Jerome County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Seib. "It wasn't all me."
Jerome County Sheriff Jim Weaver arrested Mckain, an Army sergeant stationed at Mountain Home Air Force Base, from an online sting operation he conducted in November.
Former Jerome County Sheriff's Detective David Ruggles, followed by Weaver, have arrested men by posing in online Yahoo chat rooms as a teenage girl. Jon Nicholson III stepped down as the county's prosecutor Jan. 31, midway through his four-year term. Seib took over as the county's interim prosecutor, and when commissioners weren't happy with a few candidates who applied for the job, he accepted completing the term.
According to Ruggles, he arrested suspects but "was always told Nicholson was going to plead them down."
At least one defendant who "pleaded down" broke his probation and allegedly committed a sex crime, Weaver said.
If that was policy, that policy has now apparently ended.
Mckain is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. on July 2.
"I am very pleased that we have taken a bad guy off the streets who is going to now have to answer to a higher power for his actions," Weaver said.
Cassidy Friedman covers crime and court. He can be reached at 735-3241 or cfriedman@magicvalley.com.
Last we knew: Jerome County had charged 18 men with enticing minors over the Web, and none were convicted.
The latest: The county tabbed its first conviction under a new prosecutor.
What's next: Jason Mckain will be sentenced on July 2.
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