Child Molester Brad Stowell Walks Out Of Jail!
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The local news reported today that repeat child-molester Brad Stowell walked out of jail after serving only 3 years of a 14 year sentence. The story is here: http://www.kpvi.com/global/story.asp?s=8534099 .
Stowell has admitted to molesting over 24 boys at Scout Camp. He plead guilty to two felony counts of sexual abuse to a child in 1998 and served seven years of probation (after only 150 days in jail) for that offence.
Stowell later worked his way back into the scouting program and violated his parole. His actions severely damaged his victims and their families, brought his employer under intense scrutiny, and got himself sentenced to 14 years in prison. Unfortunately he wouldn’t serve those 14 years in prison. Instead a parole board granted him the ability to leave, which he reportedly did on June 2nd.
The Post Register newspaper points out that stowell “never had any discipline violations while in prison” but I’m of the opinion that his history of repeatedly sexually abusing young boys, should have locked him away for the entire 14 years – or longer!
It is absurd that the parole board allowed Brad Stowell to walk early. A dangerous person who has repeatedly molested children should be locked up for a long time. If it were my children, I’d be livid. Stowell should be in Jail – there is no guarantee that he won’t molest someone again, and in my opinion, a greater likelihood that he will.
There is a ray of hope, however. It appears because the parole board failed to notify the victims of the parole hearing, the victims have a chance to appeal the release and request a new parole hearing – something I think the courts should grant immediately. This should put Stowell back behind bars where he belongs, protecting children, and giving a chance for the victims to explain why Stowell should remain behind bars.
With any luck – the full 14 year sentence will be carried out, and we’ll have one less child molester walking the streets.
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Comments
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0 
0 These guys will almost always be model prisoners, the better to get out early so they can reoffend while still young enough to enjoy it.
I advocate for lifetime sentences for pedophiles. If we can’t go there, because some people are convinced they can be “rehabilitated”…then at least give them a ‘no-parole’ sentence.
How can someone who has acted upon these feelings, claim to be ‘rehabilitated’ by taking 6 months of classes (and those classes happened AFTER the parole board told him to back in December) ? Did he nnot have access to them before? Did he not care about taking them before?
I’ll be interested in the resolution of this situation, if the young men take that next step…
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0 0 One bright cloud in this travesty is that he will be on probation. If he had served his full term, then he wouldn’t have been. Since this creep will now be walking the streets, I guess we can be thankful for that. But, I agree with Nemesis, he should be locked up forever.
In reading the minutes of his parole board hearing, it mentioned that he worked as a teacher’s aide. Could anyone tell when that was? It wasn’t clear to me. When I was reading the minutes (I admit I had my blinders on and was experiencing tunnel vision), I was left with the impression that it was recent. For those who are interested in reading the minutes:
http://www.postregister.com/StowellMinutes/BradleyStowellParoleMinutes.pdf.
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0 0 I would hope that part of the condition of his parole would be that he stay away from children!
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0 0 I in no way defend Stowell or support his release but the original article is misleading. I don’t know if the author misinterpreted the facts or if the news article he got it from did.
Stowell molested a lot of scouts in 1998 and before. He served a slap on the wrist jail term and got a long probation term with a lot of time hanging over his head if he screwed up. After the Scouts Honor story broke in the Post Register his probation officer violated his probation / parole but it wasn’t for molesting more kids. He then had to go serve part of his original sentence. The original article here makes it sounds as if he molested kids, went to jail, got out, molested more kids, and got out again.
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0 0 (spam filter is nailing me - not a dupe comment)
Where I think the original author may have gotten details mixed up is in the timeline.
Stowell first molested a kid when was still just a kid himself. This was reported to LDS authorities who buried it after Stowell went through their “cure.” Stowell would later serve an LDS mission and his mother, who was in scouting, pulled strings to get him the job at the scout camp where for years he preyed on kids before the Steed kids finally outed him. This latter incident was in 1998. The Post Register’s Scouts Honor story has all this in mass detail.
So there were two reported incidents of molestation but they were both in the 90’s. I don’t recall specifically but what got him into prison most recently had something to do with unauthorized contact with a minor but the contact wasn’t sexual. I think he watched a movie with a neighbor teen or something. Possibly he was grooming the kid for future molestation but thats only speculative. Regardless it was a violation of his probation.
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0 0 Parole Condition #3: No Internet Access.
That is a tough condition in our day and age. I bet it is the first one he violates. He is college educated and said he wants to pursue a masters degree. It is impossible to do university coursework without accessing the Internet. If he does not get it at home, he will get it at least from his school.
Checking Stowell’s new address given on the ISP offender registery () against Google Maps, it appears Brad lives off Overland near the Hillcrest Country Club. You can see a street photo view of his block also. (BTW, Google has been taking street view photos around Idaho Falls the past few weeks.)
Now I’m not encouraging or suggesting anyone to harass Mr. Stowell, but if you happen to drive by there and see one of those diamond-shaped cellular Internet antennas, you should report it.
If you happen to work at a cable or DSL provider that serves Boise and you happen to accidentally enter the address 1703 JACKSON ST you would see if Internet service is being provided to that particular address. Any low-level employee could accidentally stumble across that information say once a month to keep tabs, I’m just saying ya know.
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0 0 It’s very cold comfort, but I doubt we will ever see him living in Idaho Falls again. He’s smart enough to know that this town is simply too dangerous for him to ever come back.
I think it is inevitable that Stowell will re-offend. He has an established lifelong pattern, and underwent at least one private rehab attempt after he was caught the first time.
He can’t be incarcerated for life because the law under which he was convicted- child molestation- as limits on incarceration. That law covers a broad range of sexual behaviours that are less severe than rape.
I believe the truth is: Stowell is not a molester; he’s a serial rapist. But, since he was already found guilty under lesser charges, he would have to re-offend more than once to qualify for that charge, and that’s a sorrowful thing to contemplate. Hopefully, his little taste of prison will be enough to keep him from acting out on his fantasies, but the statistics aren’t favorable.
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0 0 The other injustice here is that the Boy Scouts have completely avoided any penalty for their role in the entire mess. The Scouts may be a good organization overall (I have my reservations there), but in this case there seems to have been a good old boy hierarchy that covered for Stowell just like the Catholic Church.
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0 0 The unfortunate thing is that he is very likely to reoffend. Two years is horribly short for not only what he did to those boys but how many boys he assaulted.
At the risk of having a deleted/edited post due to mentioning religion, I am a Catholic, and while I love my church, I agree that the cover up in both cases was totally wrong. These pedophiles committed a crime regardless of the association.
The unfortunate thing here is that this is where pedophiles usually congregate, as a trusted adult, whether in schools, as clergy, or what have you, in a trusted position is where they have the best opportunity to commit their crimes.
It’s my understanding that the scouts (Kim Hansen) continued covering up after the Steeds reported him. I was very glad to know that Kim Hansen is no longer employed there.
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0 0 Idahogie, not only did they escape any penalty (as far as the public is aware of) but they also had the temerity to tell the ID Supreme court last year that “teenage Boy Scouts camp staffers are not under the care and custody of individual Scouting organizations.”
One more black eye for what started out as a great organization, then lost their way back in the 1980s…and they have a long road ahead of them to regain public trust.
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0 0 Nemesis, I know you are not for the death penalty, but several states do have the death penalty for child rape. My question is what is the difference between “child molestation” and “child rape,” and why, if Idaho is considered so tough on crime, this most serious of crimes isn’t a death penalty crime in Idaho. If it was, I doubt we would be talking about Stowell’s release. From everything I’ve read, it sounds like he was raping children.
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0 0 I have no idea why there is one type of charge vs the other for this man. Idaho may be considered to be tough, but there are many areas where it seems very lax.
You mentioned knowing that I am against the death penalty, (period), but you also have read in my comments that I am for locking pedophiles up for life when we discover they have offended…and you are right, either way, they can’t ever get back out.
Therefore, we wouldn’t be worried that they would reoffend.
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0 0 You are right, Nemesis, and I would suport life without parole for these crimes. I do not believe in rehabilitation. As I have mentioned, I was a victim and witness in a 20 year old case. I was consulted and given some options (ie to state my preference) for the terms of the perpetrators sentence. I chose financial restitution (the amount of which was a joke in light of the crimes) and that his minimum sentence be equivalent to the amount of time I had been forced to serve as his victim.
In the end, the law under which he was convicted was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court. He and many others similarly convicted were released, no parole, probation, registration, no conviction. A total blow to the many brave and dedicated public servants who put these men away, not to mention the victims.
Again, I support the death penalty for these kinds of cases, but would settle for life without parole. Either, it seems, would be an improvement to the present situation in Idaho.
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0 0 While I think that the Scout Council’s top leaders and those who knew but covered it up are co-conspiritors, but I don’t think the law enforcement’s prosecution of Stowell was lax. The problem is different crimes carry different penalties and different standard of proof.
As I mentioned in my first post, child molestation covers a broad scope of activities, some more serious and injurous than others. Rape, on the other hand is a much more specific charge, and one society considers much more serious. It’s very possible the prosecutors had to settle on the crime they could best prove, and it was the choice of the lesser evil.
Even though the generall opinion is much different now, I clearly remember all the outrage that was raised against the Steeds when they pressed the matter. That outrage was also mixed with a ton of denial. Given the unique relationship between the Boy Scouts and the most prominent religion, which is very old and cherished by generations of our citizens, those attitudes were natural enough.
It’s very hard to accept that an experience like camp, where so many adults and children have had nothing but good come from it, was really rotten for a few boys. The Scouts reign supreme here as ‘the’ youth organization, but in other areas of the country other outfits, like the YMCA and Boy’s & Girl’s Club, are often much larger and more popular.
Like any organization, when there is no competition, and no variety of influences, it becomes very easy for dry rot to set in.
When I was a Scout, 50 years ago in this town, every church of every denomination had a troop or two, and several civic clubs also sponsored troops. Camp counselors came from many different groups, and often had no major connections with each other. One bad apple was noticed quickly, and there was much less reluctance to correct the problem. While it gets more attention now, there have always been child molesters here, and there always will be.
It’s unfortunate that the old diversity no longer exists, because it kept the entire Teton Peaks Council much more on the straight and narrow. While the current troops welcome kids from other faiths who want to join, that portion of the Scouts is very small. There are a lot of potential Scouts that will never have an easy opportunity to join these days.
I think that all the churches in Idaho Falls should be encouraged to sponsor troops. It would open up the executive offices, create a better self-policing council, and would help to improve and expand the great camps, as there would be a bigger and more diverse pool of contributors.
The current executive is much too insider oriented now, and that is a natural breeding ground for all kinds of problems. If the Scouts ever went back to a wide array of troops, secular and religious, I’m sure the organization would once again become the clean standard of what it was long ago.
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0 0 Here is a great article on the reporter who outed the Stowell case as well as other cases of pedophilia in the Boy Scouts. Sounds like this reporter was run out of Idaho Falls after being “outed” for being gay, and after bringing these stories to light.
http://www.afterelton.com/dennis/blog/PBS-airs-doc-on-gay-reporter
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0 0 Crystal, this has been debated to death on this site.
In a comment on the very page you posted, someone more “in the know” says that he was never “run out of town”:
I don’t think so
Submitted by mbeckman (5 points) (1 post)on Tue, 2007-09-25 00:21.
The conservative component of Idaho Falls might not tolerate homosexuals very well, but that’s hardly the reason Peter Zuckerman left (in the 9 years I’ve lived here, I haven’t heard of one gay person being “run out of town”). He left because his long-term boyfriend wanted to go to law school. That documentary sounds like fiction. A post-it in the middle of the night? I’d like to see that post-it. And Peter was hardly “outed” by a local businessman (who yes has repeatedly shown his anti-homosexuality colors over the years). Anyone who knew Peter knew he was gay and that he had a boyfriend. Also, Peter outed himself in 2003 on poynter.org. I’m not saying it wasn’t an important series, but Peter was hardly the god-like reporter people are making him out to be. He had a LOT of help. When average reporters like Peter are oversold, it devalues the accomplishments of those who work hard, are exceptionally bright, and who really lead the pack of investigative reporters.
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0 0 Also from that page, It appears as though some of the people at the Post Register are trying to do a little “Cover-Up” of their own.
Newspaper involved in hiding the facts?
Submitted by Jimmy (5 points) (1 post)on Thu, 2007-09-27 15:26.
I saw a copy of this posting on a local website where the head staff of the Post Register, is quite active.
Interestingly enough, soon after the newspaper, came aware of the employee’s revelations above as to what has REALLY happened behind the scenes, the posting by Breechwood45789 was edited and changed.
It appears as though the Idaho Falls Post Register is stifling freedom of speech (or possibly threatening employees so the real “story behind the story” doesn’t get out).
For reference, here is the original posting by Breechwood: (Changes to the original are bolded and underlined for easy reference - I hope I got them all…)
I was out of town the week the WNET crew came to film at the Post Register. I’m sorry I never got a chance to talk to them, but I wonder what I would have done, since this story seems to have taken on a life of its own. There’s great a line in “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” in which a character says, “This is the west, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” This story sounds like something that would air on “Inside Edition.”
I’ve been a reporter at the Post Register for nearly 26 years. I sat next to Peter Zuckerman for more than a year. For what it’s worth, Brad Stowell’s molestation of Scouts was no secret to the public or the Post Register staff. I covered the first civil trial against the Grand Teton Boy Scout Council, brought by Chad Purser, one of Brad Stowell’s victims. Here is some of that Page One story, from the Feb. 8, 2001, edition of the Post Register:
“A Shelley man’s negligence suit against the Boy Scouts of America and its Grand Teton Council ended in a mistrial Wednesday afternoon after the first witness made a remark about something the judge had ruled off-limits.
“Chad Purser, 18, is suing the Scouts and the council, claiming they were negligent to hire Brad Stowell. Stowell was convicted in 1998 of sexually abusing minors while he worked at Camp Little Lemhi in Swan Valley.
“Purser was one of the boys Stowell admitted to molesting, and sat with his attorneys Wednesday, the trial’s second day, while his mother, Donalene Purser, testified.
“When attorney Laurie Gaffney asked her how her son was coping with the stress of the lawsuit, Donalene Purser said, “Chad views this as a way to get his story out.” Tearfully, she then said her son was one of two dozen boys Stowell had molested at the camp.
“Stowell now lives in Idaho Falls, and was scheduled to be called as a witness. In the criminal case he was sentenced to 14 years, but his sentence was suspended. District Judge Richard T. St. Clair put him on probation for 15 years and ordered him to stay away from minors. He also was fined and ordered to make restitution to his victims.
“Before the civil trial started, District Judge Gregory Anderson ruled that any mention of victims other than Purser would not be allowed because of how it might prejudice the jury. When Donalene Purser made her statement, the Boy Scouts’ attorneys, Gary Dance and Brad Williams of Idaho Falls, immediately made a motion for a mistrial, which the judge granted.
“The case is still active, but will require a new jury. ‘To my knowledge, we’re still going to continue this,’ Gaffney said.”
There’s more, but you get the idea.
The Purser case was later settled. The week after Christmas 2004, I ran into Laurie Gaffney at a local wine bar, Vino Rosso, and she told me she was preparing to bring a second civil suit against the Grand Teton Boy Scout Council, on behalf of another one of Stowell’s victims who’d turned 18. I passed this information along to Peter, who was police and courts reporter at the time.
It is true that the local authorities sought to keep civil case files away from the public and the press (Stowell’s criminal file was a matter of public record.) The Post Register fought to have the files unsealed, and once we were able to look at the deposition Stowell gave in the Purser case it turned out to the basis for much of the “Scout’s Honor” series.
There was a public backlash, but it wasn’t the first time the Post Register had been accused of having it in for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Peter’s “outing” by Frank VanderSloot was a sleazy ploy, but the previous post is correct when it says that Peter was about the most “out” gay person any of us had ever met. He had made his homosexuality public at Poynter.org, and there was nothing he liked talking about more than his homosexuality, to the point of being a bore.
A lot of people on the Post Register staff are chuckling when they read about Post-It notes and midnight meetings, because we never heard anything about them when Peter was here. Nor did we get the impression in September 2005 that Peter left town fearing for his safety. He left after his partner was accepted by a law school in Southern California. Nobody considered him particularly tense or upset at the time.
One last thing: I was the person who tracked down Paul Steed, the father of two of the abused Scouts, then passed his name and phone number along to Peter. After “Scout’s Honor” came out, Peter told me, “I couldn’t have done this without you.” I appreciated hearing that, because I believe journalism is a team effort. But it sure sounds like Peter has been drinking his own bathwater since then.
It now looks like someone from the newspaper has removed the entire original post.
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0 0 Ok, we get it. “The Post Register is can’t be trusted, hates the Mormons and the Boy Scouts.” That’s all old news.
Can we PLEASE get back on topic and talk about Brad Stowell getting out early? Can’t we as citizens do anything about this? He needs to stay in jail!
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0 0 If the Post Register had focused more on the perpetrator, Brad Stowell, instead of trying to attack the Boy Scouts, maybe Stowell wouldn’t have gotten out of jail so early.
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0 0 Oh, Anonymous #20, that comment is exactly why we are unhappy with how things have been in this situation.
The Boy Scouts are complicit in this situation because they knowingly hired a pedophile at the recommendation of his mother who was a member of their hierarchy…
Pedophiles are a dime a dozen in our area, but children’s organizations who willingly hire them to be around our children, and then deny it/hide it/try to smear the victims and their families, now THAT’S news.
He got out of jail early because he got paroled, which was able to happen as part of his legally given sentence, and nothing the Post Register might have said about him would have altered that sentence.
In fact, if it weren’t for the Post Register, I wouldn’t have known about his parole.
The changing of that comment is also old news, as I seem to remember the PR doing a story on it as well.
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0 0 I think the PR has given us many stories about many pedophiles in our area, and their sentences, etc.
Kudos to them for keeping us informed.
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0 0 Anonymous vs. PBS. Who to believe?
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0 0 I met Peter Zuckerman personally a few times and the only way he could have been more obviously gay was if he dressed in drag and wore a big sign saying “I’m gay.” Zuckerman was 100% the stereotypical flaming gay man. I don’t mean that as disrespect but rather just to point out the obvious. From his stereotypical “gay voice” to his stereotypical “gay mannerisms” he was blatantly obviously gay. If you’ve ever seen the show “Will and Grace” think about Will’s friend (I forget his exact name) who was one of the main characters and how flamboyantly stereotypically gay he was and you’ve got Peter Zuckerman.
None of this has anything to do with the quality of his article or its truthfulness. And I despise Frank Vandersloot so I’m certainly not defending his smear tactics by publicly outing him. But the outing was pretty mild since Peter was so blatantly gay to begin with.
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0 0 Big difference between being openly gay and being run out of town for it, or run out of town for outing a child sex abuse cover up.
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0 0 Crystal,
You may not be aware that Paul Menser from the Post Register admited to writing the post referenced above.
He’s the inside guy who brought a lot of light to the over dramatization of the story.
What is most damning to the Post Register about this is 1) It sounds like Roger Plothow was furious the information got out and had a bit of a “talking-to” with Paul Menser for letting the information get out, and 2) It looks like they tried to cover it up.
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0 0 Draft Dodgers should be run out of town also.
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0 0 Dear Anon and/or Anonymous, whoever you are:
One of the real dangers of the Internet is that bad information is like that fish capsule I take every morning — every time I burp it comes back.
The silliest allegations repeated on this string, not for the first time, are that I was “furious” with a member of my staff for posting what he thought, and that the newspaper “tried to cover it up.”
Cover what up? The fact that some in our office thought the PBS series over-simplified the whole thing, giving Peter too much credit and others not enough? I wrote that very thing on several blogs after the series appeared, and I said the same thing to the producers. Peter himself has acknowledged that this work was far from his alone, and that many people contributed in one way or another.
Furious? No, more like disappointed. I did, indeed speak to the person who wrote the post in question, indicating that I thought it was petty and inaccurate. I did not ask him to have it removed, nor did I have the power to see that it was. By the way, that same person has since been promoted and giving a pay raise.
Lively disagreements, frank discussions and open debates are all part of a healthy newsroom and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Indeed, it is these traits that attracted me to journalism way back in 1976.
Anon/Anonymous, if you’re so certain you’ve got the story right, identify yourself and let’s have an open discussion of the facts and sources, and I’ll answer any question you wish to pose.
Three years after the series first appeared, I continue to stand behind every word. No one mentioned in the series has ever asked for a retraction, clarification or correction. It remains posted on our web site, word for word, as it was originally published. I encourage you to go back and read it.
And, let’s not forget some of the more important outcomes of the series:
Laws were passsed tighening prosecution and punishment of pedophiles.
Brad Stowell went back to prison.
The Steeds and Birds received high honors from the Boy Scouts for their work in saving other boys from abuse.
Tens of thousands of people have become more aware of child sexual abuse.
Clark Farrer, the executive director of the Teton Council of the Boy Scouts, is now on the Post Register’s Community Advisory Board.
I summary, I enjoy a healthy, lively debate of the issues as much or more than the next guy. Let’s try, however, to debate the facts and not a false version of the story.
Roger Plothow
Editor and Publisher
Post Register
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0 0 Thank you, Roger.
Here is Paul Menser’s response to questions about how the PR handled the situation after he posted the info:
“…In a nutshell, I wrote what I wrote then thought better of it. Whether I got chewed out is nobody’s business but my own. I’ve got plenty of calluses on my butt, going back to when I was a choirboy…”
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0 0 I appreciate Roger’s comments and I am grateful to the Post Register for everything they did to bring this story into the open. I’m sure that we never would have known much of the story if not for their “Scouts Honor” series.
I hate to stay off-topic but since others brought it up I think the Post Register does an outstanding job and takes a lot of criticism that they don’t deserve. Who knows, if they hadn’t done their report Brad Stowell might have never gone to prison to begin with. (Disclaimer - this is my own personal opinion and I have no affiliation with the Post Register).
Here’s an idea. If anyone wants to make a comment about the Post Register there is another thread for that. How about discussing Brad Stowell for a change? I think it’s a travesty that he received such an early release from prison. And I don’t understand why the victims didn’t receive notification. I hope they can appeal.
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0 0 I agree that the newspaper went after the wrong people. I think they’re a liberal group of buddies that started licking their chops when they saw that this happened in a traditionally conservative group ( especially a group that doesn’t allow gays to be scout leaders) - and saw it as a way to sensationalize headlines.
If they had ever shown a real link with a cover-up by the scouts or church’s involvement I’d be looking at things very differently.
I noticed that not a single other local news outlet tried to implicate the Boy Scouts or the mormon church like it seems the Post Register did. They just don’t like anything conservative.
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0 0 Oh brother, Anonymous! You agree that the newspaper went after the wrong people? Agree with whom? You’re the only one who said they went after anyone besides Brad Stowell. Please give it a rest. You’re starting to sound petty and vindictive now.
Comment #20 is a real gem. So it’s the Post Register’s fault that Stowell got early parole? Get a grip, please.
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0 0 I agree with Guest_123 (#32) that Anonymous is out in (right) field with this one, and so far no one commenting here thinks the same way.
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0 0 I’m with 123 and Nemesis.
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0 0 Stowell’s early release is yet another reason that mandatory minimums are gaining popularity across the country. Judges like Brent Moss and Richard St. Clair handed out these type of low minimum sentences all the time. St. Clair is retired, but Moss is still on the bench handing out low sentences all the time.
The Idaho Parole Commission didn’t do a good job of notifying the victims. Perhaps it would have changed their vote, perhaps not. However, they should remand Stowell to custody until they can hold a parole hearing again–this time with the victims present. Stowell molested many victims and caused untold harm. It is pathetic to see the Parole Commission re-victimize these boys again.
I can’t say that I know what they have gone through; however, if I was a victim, I would at least want to tell my story to the Commission and how Stowell effected me and how he could molest other kids again. I would at least feel like I had the chance to have a voice and make a difference. Even if they paroled him, I would be glad that I spoke out about my experience(s) and shined the light on Stowell’s vile acts. It is amazing that nobody could look the victims up in the phone book or through their driver’s license records. Seems like pure laziness and lack of concern. This is troubling and Governor Otter should take this case into account when these Commissioners come up for re-appointment. The Executive Director, Olivia Craven, should be forced to resign as a result of the callous treatment of the victims in this case. Seems to me she has been in her position way too long and become lax in her duties.
I would suggest that people e-mail Governor Otter and demand her resignation. I sent him my note….what do you think? Should this just be allowed to pass without someone being held accountable? Or should we just let our State Officials re-victimize the victims?
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0 0 Hey Humble Idiot — what a misnomer that is, but you brought out some good points in your comment #35. I am more than willing to sit around and complain and gripe about our legal system and the parole board but, I’m ashamed to admit, never thought about letting the governor know how I feel. Thanks for shaking me out of my apathy. An E-Mail will be on its way as soon as I can get it worded to my satisfaction.
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0 0 Before we can lay blame, we need to find out, what was the process that was in place for notification? If the process was followed, the office that did the notification is not to blame.
I’m a regulations/process analyst by profession. If you want something done a particular way you have to make sure the process is in place. Personal application of common sense doesn’t come into play if there are specific legal guidelines and they are supposed to be followed for hundreds of cases (try carrying that size of a caseload and then applying your own judgment to them, you’ll get bogged down and booted out in a hurry).
So if the regs were followed and yet this occurred, we need better regs. Something that tells them, “do X if the letter of notification is returned by the P.O.”
But even then, I know of many letters sent out that are not returned but are never delivered correctly, so there will still be cases where the notification system fails the victim.
We’re too quick to jump to blame on this site. We don’t know who/what was responsible, we can only speculate. The fact that the letter was returned, and nothing further was done, gives certain key players a chance to determine, is this an issue we can address to make a change?
That would be the approach to take…”This did not play out in the way the law intended, due to a breakdown in communications. Please review your processes to minimize or eliminate the opportunity for such a breakdown to occur in the future”.
And then, contact your legislative representatives to show them what you requested, and ask them, “Have you received word that this process has been fixed, so this type of thing does not happen again?”
Let’s fix it and move on so the next victims don’t get burned.
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0 0 Comment #31: I noticed that not a single other local news outlet tried to implicate the Boy Scouts or the mormon church like it seems the Post Register did. They just don’t like anything conservative.
You say because the PR was the only outlet to report this means the PR is guilty. I think it vindicates the PR more than anything else.
I think that the PR was the only outlet to report these tragedies and cover-ups indicates the PR are the only journalists with backbones around here. The other media outlets are mostly fluff news with pretty faces. They can be described accurately as “journalistic fluffers” if you know that term.
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0 0 If the PR went after the mormons, I missed it. I saw that they went after Brad Stowell and those who tried to cover up a child molester who was victimizing scouts over and over again. Their religious affiliation had nothing to do with it, other than we all know that it’s an LDS run group in this community.
I know many LDS people who were glad this was brought out by the PR particularly those with young children/grandchildren. Many felt as I do that Kim Hansen should have been outed long before he was and that Frank Vandersloot should have kept his opinions to himself. They were quite embarrassed by what was going on. I know others who kept quiet about the whole thing. I don’t know any who stood up the scouts or Stowell except maybe the scout leaders and Vandersloot.
Roger, thank you for posting some facts here. I appreciate your posts.
More than anything, I commend the Steed’s for having the courage to bring this man’s actions to light, as well as the cover up associated with it. They probably saved a lot of young boys with their act of bravery. It couldn’t have been easy for them or their parents. I would think anyone who has ever had children would commend them though.
Anonymous, I can’t help but wonder why you wouldn’t want people to be held accountable for something that was as illegal, and morally, and ethically wrong as this whole cover up was. Young boys were at risk of having their lives ruined.
Nemesis, very good information, thanks for sharing.
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0 0 Isn’t there a State Office of Victim Services in Idaho? I’m a prior victim of a presently incarcerated offender, and even though I am not a victim of the crimes for which he is presently incarcerated I will be informed 45 days prior to his release. I just don’t understand how the parole hearing could have been held without notice to the victims? Unless the victims/families made no effort to ascertain the earliest possible release date and communicate their interest and contact info to Victim Services?
I agree that he should be remanded pending proper notice of the hearing to all concerned parties, as surely there was an agency which was required to notify victims of their right to know about the hearing in advance.
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0 0 From Bannock Co.’s Victim Services Site:
INFORMATION ON OFFENDERS
The Idaho Department of Correction has instituted a crime victims notification service, known as the VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) program.
VINE is a toll-free, 24-hour telephone hotline. Users can call anonymously for offender custody status updates and register for automatic notification.
The Idaho Commission of Pardons & Parole is a partner in the VINE project so that VINE also offers parole and probation information including parole hearing, case expiration and parole eligibility dates.
Victims may call the IDOC’s VINE Line at 1-877-VINE-4-ID (1-877-846-3443.)
Information about the location and parole eligibility of offenders sentenced to the Idaho Department of Correction can be obtained by clicking this link to IDOC’s Offender Search Page:
https://www.accessidaho.org/public/corr/offender/search.html
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0 0 Crystal…#41 was great, exactly what we needed to see. (Sometimes, cut-n-paste and links ARE the right thing to do!!!)
Thanks for the information.
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0 0 Aiy yai yai!
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0 0 Hey, Guest_House #43, if we’re going to bust her for the times when it’s over the top, we also need to say nice things when it’s done in an appropriate way.
Fair and balanced, we’d like to think we are… 
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0 0 Here is a link to the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole Administrative Rules. Look at Section 300 on page 14 for victims procedures.
http://adm.idaho.gov/adminrules/rules/idapa50/0101.pdf
This raises questions how much the prosecutors office did their job in filing a notice with the Commission of a victim. Now, if the victim(s) did not provide a change of address I will certainly agree with Nemesis that the bear part of the blame—as far as procedures go.
The other link (similar to Crystal’s) I found from Bingham County Prosecutor’s Office:
“When a victim of crime wishes to exercise their legal rights, they can request a form from the prosecutor’s office to fill out and send back. This form is a checklist that allows the victim to indicate which of the rights they wish to exercise. The most commonly marked items are to exercise the right to be notified of hearings and the right to address the court. The prosecuting attorney’s office provides the completed form to the clerk of the court, who then has the responsibility of notifying appropriate authorities of the victim’s request. If the victim indicates on the rights form that they wish to be notified of hearing dates, the prosecutor’s office makes every effort to contact the victim about those dates (in addition to the notice that is supposed to be provided by the clerk). You can view and print out this form by clicking this Request To Exercise Rights Form link.”
http://www.co.bingham.id.us/Prosecutor/victim_services.htm
Seems to me the PR should dig further into whether the Bonneville County Prosecutor did their job by filing the victim notice with the Parole Commission. Additionally, I called the Idaho Department of Correction in Idaho Falls. They advised me that when a parolee is due to be paroled, a letter is sent to the Sheriff of the county of conviction and county of intended residence. This letter lists the name of the offender, their intended address, and date of parole. This same letter is sent to the prosecutor as well. It usually goes out the same week as the offender is slated for parole. This process should change–they should send it out earlier so that if a victim falls through the cracks, the prosecutor still has time to notify the victim.
It seems odd that the Parole Commissioners would go ahead with the hearing if a letter was returned. Seems like they could have done a little more to seek out comments of the victim for such a high profile case and one in which many children were harmed. This whole episode shows one common theme by all the combined parts (prosecutor, Commission, Courts, etc….) A TOTAL LACK OF CONCERN FOR THE VICTIMS AND SAFETY OF THE COMMUNITY.
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0 0 2 things i should point out:
1. The Boise Probation a parole office on fairview is severley understaffed and over worked. I doubt they will be able to keep an eye on him unless he gets re-arrested or fails to register - although if you look at the Idaho Sex Offender website you can see how many non-compliant offenders there are.
2. Any one else find it odd that the Comissioner of the Pardons and Parole who figured he was a low risk offender is a member of the LDS Church and from eastern idaho??
Seriously this was the best candidate IDOC could find for release from prison?
[moderated] this is a sad day and age - less time for Molesting kids than you would get if you got popped with a dimebag of pot.
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0 0 LOL
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0 0 Excellent point Smitty. My buddy who works in Burley Probation & Parole told me that he has a group of criminals to supervise that is over one-hundred. He told me that this number is pretty much average statewide. So, you have one officer supervising 100 criminals. I am thinking Stowell will love it in Boise as it is even larger than Idaho Falls, he isn’t well known there, and can be more anonymous and have some unassuming kids over for movies with less chance of getting busted.
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0 0 Guess that’s why it’s so easy for them to make that “jailhouse squawky” without gettin caught! 
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0 0 hmmm,
cover up? what cover up? I think the point was that the post register tried to create the “illusion” of a cover up. Put me down as someone who does not trust the local newpaper to have any unbiased reporting.
I don’t think other news outlets didn’t cover brad stowell, they did. but the post register is the only one who tried to make it look like there was a cover-up.
as a result a lot of people think the post register has turned into more of a tabloid than a legitimate news source.
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This sickens me. Why can’t week keep people like that behind bars?