Man gets rider for soliciting sexual contact from teens 6 years ago
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IDAHO FALLS – A man was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty to the sexual battery of two 16-year-old girls.
Barry Freckleton, 29, was sentenced by District Judge Bruce Pickett to a minimum of two and a maximum of ten years in prison.
However, Picket then retained jurisdiction, meaning Freckleton will complete a rider treatment program in prison for one year. Once the program is done, Pickett can decide whether or not to send Freckleton to prison for his given sentence or release him onto probation.
Pickett allowed Freckleton to postpone his rider program until Jan. 10, so Freckleton could finish his bachelor’s degree. He is expected to report to the program by 5 p.m. on that day, or he will forfeit the opportunity and serve two to 10 years in prison.
RELATED | Ammon man now charged with sexual battery with minors after 2018 traffic stop
Freckleton initially pleaded not guilty to two counts of felony possession of a controlled substance, one count of felony child sexual battery soliciting the participation of a minor child 16 to 17 years of age, and one count of felony child sexual battery of a minor child 16 to 17 years of age with sexual contact but not defined as lewd.
In September, Freckleton accepted a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony possession of a controlled substance and one count of felony child sexual battery soliciting the participation of a minor child 16 to 17 years of age.
As part of the agreement, the prosecution agreed drop the other charges and recommend probation at sentencing. The were free to argue for an underlying sentence.
Sentencing
During the sentencing, Freckleton’s defense attorney, Curtis Smith, argued for a probation period, stating the crimes happened six years ago and that Freckleton has been well-behaved ever since.
“We’ve seen him go on and do his education. He is exactly a week away from his bachelor’s degree,” said Smith. “Since back in 2018, when these events occurred, he has been doing exactly what we would expect participating citizens in our community to do.”
Smith continued, saying Freckleton has a lot of regret about the crimes he committed.
“He is not proud at all about this moment in his life. In fact, I would indicate to the court, that there is never a time that I meet with this young man where it’s almost physically devastating to him when we talk about the facts of this,” said Curtis. “You can see him slump in his chair and almost wince because he can’t believe that it actually happened, and it actually was him.”
Bonneville County Deputy Prosecutor Penny North-Shaul, argued for a probation term of 10 years, with an underlying sentence of a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 10 years.
North-Shaul told the court Freckleton needs to understand that what he did was wrong and needs to take accountability, even though the crimes happened six years ago.
“Notwithstanding that this occurred quite some time ago, I do think there should be an appropriate consequence regarding the behavior that Mr. Freckleton engaged in when he was 24-years-of-age,” said North-Shaul. “This is very serious conduct, and he needs to understand you can’t do this sort of thing and that this court is going to err on the side of protecting the community and also deter him, and deter others like him.”
Freckleton then gave a short statement to the court, saying he has been working on himself since the crimes occurred.
“I’d just like to say I’m very sorry for what happened six years ago and that I’m working on myself,” said Freckleton. “I’ve been working on it for the past six years, and I’ve been getting help through therapy and counsel.”
Before pronouncing the sentence, Pickett explained his thought process behind his ruling, saying Freckleton sent sexual texts to the victims and that parts of his version of the story don’t add up.
“The court’s concern is the solicitation goes on. It’s not just a one-time thing,” said Pickett. “The way that I read the official version, is this was a number of texts over time talking about all of these things, and like I said, fairly specific explanations of what you want to have happen in soliciting a minor child.”
Pickett explained Freckleton’s version of the events, saying he had picked up two 16-year-old girls after they asked him for a ride. Pickett said that doesn’t match the police report.
“I frankly find that hard to believe that they texted you for a ride when she’s the one driving the car. Not you, you’re the passenger,” said Pickett. “It appears that there is a certain amount of denial going on with what occurred that night.”
Pickett then acknowledged the multiple letters of support sent in on Freckleton’s behalf, with many of them calling Freckleton “kind and gentle” and saying the crimes were “completely out of character.”
“These are your first criminal charges. I read through the letters of support and was impressed by them. I’m impressed with the things you’ve been doing,” said Pickett. “And I would agree, I think it is out of character for you now, the question is at the time was it out of character? I would say probably not. But we do factor in the belief that people can change and improve themselves.”
New details
More details about the circumstances nearly six years ago were revealed in court on Monday.
Pickett explained the official police report, saying that Freckleton was originally pulled over by the Idaho State Police after he was seen driving in a “suspicious manner.”
“Sergeant Cox with the Idaho State Police approaches your driver’s side, as he approaches you, in what would particularly be a normal reaction, he notices squirming and kind of some strange behavior,” said Pickett. “You had jumped out from the passenger side and appeared to be trying to keep the officer from going up to the door of the vehicle.”
He explained that officers were able to identify the driver as a 16-year-old girl, and there was another underage girl in the car as well. Freckleton was 23 years old at the time.
“The trooper noted anxious and frightened expressions on their faces. As more investigation was done at that point, they found Adderall drugs,” said Pickett. “Then there was an investigation of the texts, and here is where we get to the crime of solicitation. It says ‘Mr. Freckleton solicited (the victim) to participate in a sexual act’.”
According to court documents, 16 pills were seized from Freckleton’s car and were confirmed to be Adderall. He didn’t have a current and valid prescription.
There were also 11 pills seized that were identified as methylphenidate, which can treat ADHD and narcolepsy. He didn’t have a prescription for that either.
During an interview with police, one of the victims recounted an inappropriate encounter with Freckleton. She said there was no direct sexual contact but that Freckleton tried to get her to send him naked pictures. She said she never did.
She said he sent her inappropriate pictures back in 2018, before the traffic stop.
The victim said Freckleton had snuck her and her friends out five or six times and that Freckleton groped and touched her friends. He requested her to “perform sexual acts on him via cell phone,” according to documents.
Other interviews were conducted, and one victim said she was touched inappropriately on the chest by him.