Man charged with rape of a minor after victim details alleged sexual abuse as a child

IDAHO FALLS – One man was charged with the sexual abuse of a minor after a woman reportedly told police about being abused by multiple men for years.

Perry M. Thompson, 50, was charged with felony rape of a victim under the age of 16.

Court documents state on March 29, a woman reported to the Idaho Falls Police Department that she had been sexually assaulted by four men, starting when she was 7 years old.

According to police reports, the victim first reported that she had been sexually assaulted by a man, who she said is now dead, in 2009. The case was investigated and presented to the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office, but they “declined to pursue charges due to lack of evidence.”

The same victim reported another sexual assault again in 2019, this time regarding Thompson. The case was investigated, and the police said it was “unfounded.”

On April 2, an Idaho Falls Police officer contacted the victim who said she did not like police officers and would rather speak to a counselor.

The officer then scheduled a forensic interview at the Idaho Falls Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center for Monday, April 8.

During the interview, the victim said four men had sexually abused her when she was a child.

The victim then stated she was sexually abused by Thompson beginning in 2013. She then detailed more allegations about two other men who have not been charged.

According to the victim’s statements, Thompson was previously convicted of a child sex crime and put in prison at some point.

The National Sex Offender Registry shows Thompson was convicted of “illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance” out of Marion, Ohio, in 2009. Court documents state this charge is the equivalent of possession of child pornography.

Thompson is currently a registered sex offender because of this.

The officer later conducted a full criminal history check on Thompson, which showed he was also arrested in 2009 for being a sex offender and having unlawful access to school children. The case was later dismissed.

The victim told the interviewer that Perry had raped her multiple times until 2021. She continued to detail the abuse from Thompson, alleging he and his wife had “medicated her against her will.”

The victim says Perry “forced her to take medication for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia” but that she was never diagnosed with any mental health issues. She told the interviewer she had attempted to make a police report about the abuse, but it was not investigated.

After the interview, the victim spoke with the officer and provided him with pages from a diary she had been keeping, detailing written testimonials from her about the alleged abuse.

On April 15, the officer met with Thompson’s wife, who reiterated some of the statements the victim had reported about being assaulted. The woman said she did not have any first-hand knowledge of the abuse, and did not witness anything between the victim and Thompson.

On April 24, the officer met with the victim to conduct a “confrontation call” between the victim and Thompson.

Thompson reportedly admitted to sexually assaulting the victim when she was 15 or 16-years-old, saying, “I was confused on a lot of it. It was you coming to me and say, ‘If I do this, I’ll let you do this.’ And yeah, it was manipulation on both ends.”

Thompson allegedly continued to blame the victim for the sexual assault, saying he told her it “needed to stop.”

The victim reminds Thompson she was a minor, to which Thompson responds, “There were times when I said we need to stop this. We need to not do this. How many times did I say that? And you would still come to me.”

Later, Thompson reportedly apologizes to the victim, but continues to blame her for the assaults.

“I admit, I’ve done wrong. I should have stopped it way before,” Thompson says in the recorded conversation. “I was trying to tell you how many times this needs to stop.”

Toward the end of the conversation, Thompson says he hopes “this doesn’t get me in trouble but, ya know, yeah I have done some wrong things but a lot of it I feel I was manipulated too.”

A warrant was issued for Thompson’s arrest on May 3, and he was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on May 8, where a bond was set at $150,000 but was later reduced to $75,000. A no-contact order was issued for the victim.

Thompson’s case was bound over to district court, and he is expected to appear for a district court arraignment on June 24.

If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.

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