Idaho Man Sentenced for Lewd Conduct with a Child

CALDWELL, Idaho (AP) — A southwestern Idaho man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for lewd conduct with a child. The Idaho Press-Tribune (http://bit.ly/Tu8SrA ) reports 35-year-old Joseph Howard Brown of Nampa pleaded guilty to the charge in July after prosecutors said he groomed and molested the 14-year-old stepdaughter of a colleague for more than a year.

Third District Judge George Southworth sentenced Brown on Monday, and said he would be eligible for parole after serving at least five years of his prison term. Police found out about the abuse when the girl's classmates alerted a school resource officer. Investigators said they subsequently found sexually explicit videos of the girl on Brown's phone. Prosecutors dropped a charge of sexual exploitation of a child in exchange for Brown's guilty plea.