Prosecutor voices concern regarding release of man charged with kidnapping, sex crime with minor

POCATELLO — A man accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl has been released on his own recognizance.

Richard Walt Harkness, 43, is charged with felonies for first-degree kidnapping and lewd conduct with a minor under the age of 16. Magistrate Judge Scott Axline released him following a March 29 arraignment hearing.

Bannock County Deputy Prosecutor Erin Tognetti, who is prosecuting the case against Harkness, emailed EastIdahoNews.com regarding his release. She said she wanted the community to be aware of his release — and is especially concerned because Harkness had no previous connection to the victim, whom he allegedly picked while she was walking near downtown Pocatello and forced her to perform a sex act.

Pocatello police responded to a phone call reporting a sexual assault around 8:30 p.m. March 25, according to an affidavit of probable cause. The caller, a 15-year-old girl, told police her friend was assaulted earlier the same day.

Responding officers spoke with the victim, who told them she was walking on East Center Street, between Jack in the Box and the Center Street underpass when a man she did not know pulled over and offered her a ride. She accepted the offer from the driver, who was later identified as Harkness.

The girl told police, Harkness told her she would need to perform a sexual favor in exchange for the ride.

She said he drove down a dirt road, parked near the railroad tracks and commanded her to get out of the car and perform the favor. When he was finished, according to the affidavit, Harkness gave the girl $40 then drove her home.

Officers drove the victim around town looking for the area the assault occurred. She was unable to find the precise location but was “very certain” Harkness drove down Fredregill Road en route to the location.

The victim was scheduled for an interview the following day at a child advocacy center.

She was also administered a SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) examination at Portneuf Medical Center. A rape kit, the undergarments the victim was wearing at the time of the attack and two $20 bills were turned over to police.

During her forensic interview, the victim told a child therapist that Harkness called her a “sexy young lady,” the affidavit says. He told her he did not want to seem “weird or anything” but he was “just a horny man.”

Harkness then asked if the victim was interested in sexual acts with him, to which she responded she was not.

The victim said Harkness continued making inappropriate comments while the two were driving around. She told the interviewer that she asked Harkness to take her to her home, but Harkness instead went into an area between two hills, with limited visibility toward or from his vehicle and parked.

Harkness told her he would leave her there unless she performed the sexual favor, the affidavit says.

The victim said Harkness repeated several times he was not doing this to be “creepy,” but he was just “really horny,” according to the affidavit.

After the attack, the victim said, Harkness drove her to Old Town Pocatello, but not all the way to her home. She said, when he dropped her off, Harkness told her multiple times not to tell anyone what “they were doing or what they had done,” because he did not want to “get in trouble.”

While the victim was describing the incident to the therapist, officers gleaned what they believed to be the location of the attack. According to the affidavit, officers determined it was a gravel and grass area near the Union Pacific Railroad tracks near South 1st Avenue.

Following the interview, officers drove the victim to the area where they believed the assault occurred. As they approached the area, the victim told officers that it was in fact where the assault happened. The affidavit says, the victim began crying as they passed.

Using the victim’s description of the route Harkness took to and from the area of the assault and her home, officers canvassed for surveillance footage which caught the vehicle.

Eventually, officers found footage of a maroon Ford Escape traveling the described route in the time range provided by the victim. As they pieced together video, officers were able to see the Ford head into the hidden area near 1st Avenue with someone in the passenger seat.

On traffic camera footage taken from the route, officers found the Escape and saw a girl matching the description of the victim in the passenger seat. The footage showed the girl dropped off where she described having been dropped off.

The driver of the Escape was positively identified as Harkness, the vehicle’s registered owner.

Officers spoke with Harkness, who agreed to be interviewed.

During the interview, Harkness allegedly told the officers he had picked up a young girl in the area described by the victim. He said he offered the girl a ride because it was cold.

After first saying that he gave the girl a ride home, Harkness told officers that he did take her to the train tracks.

Asked if there was any reason his DNA would be on the victim — specifically on her chest area — Harkness told officers it would not, the affidavit says. When officers asked if he would submit a DNA sample, Harkness asked for a lawyer and ended the interview.

Harkness was arrested and taken to Bannock County Jail for booking.

Though Harkness has been charged with these crimes, it does not necessarily mean he committed them. Everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty.

If he is found guilty, Harkness would face up to life in prison.

He is scheduled to appear before Magistrate Judge Aaron Thompson for a preliminary hearing on April 10.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Magistrate Judge Aaron Thompson ordered Richard Harkness’ release. In actuality, it was Magistrate Judge Scott Axline who ordered his release. The previous version also listed the victim’s age as 13; she is 15.