Man said “the devil” made him sexually abuse a five-year-old girl. Now he’s going to prison
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IDAHO FALLS — A 36-year-old man will be spending a lengthy amount of time in prison after being sentenced for sexual abuse of a child Monday.
Everett Guyn Haynes IV was sentenced by District Judge Dane Watkins to a minimum of five years and a maximum of 35 years in prison for felony lewd conduct with a child under 16.
Haynes was also sentenced to a minimum of five and a maximum of 25 years in prison for felony sexual abuse of a child.
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Both sentences will run concurrently, and Haynes will be required to register as a sex offender and pay at least $8,070.50 in court fees and fines.
Haynes initially pleaded not guilty to all charges but signed a plea agreement in March. In this agreement, he agreed to plead guilty to the charges in exchange for the prosecution recommending a minimum of five years in prison, and the prosecution was still able to argue for any amount of maximum time.
According to Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal, Haynes’ defense attorney, John Thomas, argued for a maximum eight-year sentence, while the prosecution argued for a maximum 30-year sentence.
Background
On Dec. 6, 2022, a 15-year-old girl disclosed during a forensic interview that when she was five years old, she was sexually molested by Haynes, according to court documents.
After the interview, an Idaho Falls police officer spoke to the victim’s mother, who told police Haynes had moved to North Carolina and was aware of the victim’s report. The woman said when confronted with the allegations, Haynes would “try to remember” but hasn’t been in contact with the victim in approximately ten years.
The mother and the victim agreed to create a fake Facebook profile under the victim’s name and photo so that the officer could get Haynes to correspond with him on Facebook Messenger.
On April 11, 2023, the officer began speaking to Haynes and had a conversation that lasted “multiple weeks.”
Throughout the conversation, Haynes believed he was talking with the victim but was actually talking with the officer.
The officer confronted Haynes multiple times about the sexual abuse allegations, and Haynes initially denied the claims, saying he did not commit the acts and then saying he “did not remember.”
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Eventually, police say Haynes made “multiple confessions” to each allegation and gave “estimated dates and locations of where he committed the crimes.”
He also admitted to how he got away with the abuse, and why he “was scared to get caught.”
According to police reports, Haynes said he sexually abused the victim because she was “beautiful,” “new,” and “fresh.”
During the text conversation, Haynes told the victim, who was actually the officer, to lie to police if she was asked about the allegations.
A warrant was issued for Haynes’ arrest on May 2, 2023, and he was booked into the Bonneville County Jail on May 25, 2023.
In a later preliminary hearing, the officer stated “(Haynes) said that he was wrong for doing it, and he did it because he was young and the devil told him to do it.”