Man arrested after 12-year-old reportedly tells teacher about sexual abuse
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IDAHO FALLS — A 47-year-old man was arrested after a 12-year-old girl reportedly told her teacher she was being sexually abused.
Isaac Vernon Mardis was charged with one count of felony lewd conduct with a child.
According to court documents, on March 8, Bonneville County Sheriff’s deputies learned a 12-year-old girl had told her elementary school teacher that a man, identified as Mardis, had been touching her inappropriately.
The victim reported that after she disclosed the abuse to her teacher, she spoke to a school counselor who called the police.
A deputy responded to the school and made arrangements to bring the child to the Idaho Falls Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center (DVSAC) for a forensic interview.
In reports, the deputy says he was familiar with the situation because the victim had previously disclosed the same kind of inappropriate touching by Mardis two years earlier.
During the forensic interview, the deputy discussed the previous report and said the victim’s mother was told she needed to keep the victim away from Mardis. The mother moved the victim out of the area, but they returned to Idaho Falls in September 2022.
According to the mother, Mardis had been reaching out to the victim to try to talk to her. The mother also stated that another child had been spending time with friends, and Mardis had “started popping in where she had been with friends.”
Due to difficulties finding housing, the family reportedly moved in with Mardis’ relatives in January 2023, where Mardis also lived. The mother told deputies they “did not have any other option” and made sure Mardis “wasn’t alone with the kids.”
The victim reportedly told a forensic interviewer that Mardis had been “touching (her) in bad places.” When she asked him to stop and mentioned she was underage, he reportedly responded, “What’s age got to do with it?” and “I’ve done this to a lot of (underage) girls.”
He reportedly admitted to the victim he had also sexually abused other girls who were around 15 years old.
According to the victim, the day before she disclosed the abuse to her teacher, Mardis had put his hand in her “inappropriate section,” and she told him to stop. She also explained an instance in which she was with Mardis while he was playing a video game, and he assaulted her in front of a sleeping relative.
After the interview, a sexual assault exam was done that showed no visible signs of trauma. The kit was also sent to the lab for testing, which later showed no traces of Mardis’ DNA.
Another deputy was able to locate Mardis and ask him if they could download the content from his phone, to which he consented.
During a search of Mardis’ cell phone, deputies found no specific evidence other than messages between Mardis and the victim’s mother.
According to deputies, Mardis had “refused to talk to law enforcement except to recover his cell phone.”
A warrant was issued for Mardis’ arrest on March 27, and he was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on Monday. His bond was set to $35,000. He later posted bail and was released.
Mardis is expected to appear for a preliminary hearing on April 12. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.
Though Mardis has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.