Teen Accused in Dietrich Sexual Assault Case Makes Alford Plea
SHOSHONE, Id. (KMVT/KSVT) According to court documents, John R.K. Howard 19, of Keller Texas submitted an Alford plea today, to a felony count of injury to a child.
He was originally charged with sexually assaulting a mentally disabled teammate in October 2015. Now prosecutors are claiming it wasn’t a sex crime. Howard will likely be sentenced up to three years of probation and may be ordered to 300 hours of community service. With an Alford plea, he is able to claim his innocence while saying that prosecutors would likely be able to win a conviction if the case went to trial.
Howard’s attorney said the victim was not pinned down, raped or subjected to any sort of forcible penetration. The Idaho Attorney General’s office was the prosecutor in the case. They said they would have proved Howard kicked a coat hanger into the victim’s rectum.