Rigby man sentenced for raping teen boy in church parking lot

Ryan Cook during his sentencing hearing. | Kaitlyn Hart, EastIdahoNews.com RIGBY — A 39-year-old man was sentenced Monday for raping a 14-year-old boy in a church parking lot. District Judge Stevan Thompson sentenced Ryan Cook to a minimum of 8 years and a maximum of 20 years in prison. Cook will also be required to register as a sex offender, pay fines and fees along with a civil penalty fine of at least $5,000, and a no-contact order was issued for the victim for 20 years. RELATED | Man charged after allegedly raping teenage boy in Rigby church parking lot Cook initially pleaded not guilty to felony lewd conduct with a child under 16 and felony enticing children over the internet. On Sept. 3, he was given an additional charge for felony transferring of body fluids containing HIV, to which he pleaded not guilty. Cook signed a plea agreement on Feb. 4, where he agreed to plead guilty to felony lewd conduct with a minor in exchange for the prosecution dropping the remaining charges. Sentencing During sentencing, Cook’s defense attorney, Douglas Knutson, argued that the investigation had not proven that Cook transmitted HIV to the victim and asked Thompson to strike the mention of that allegation from a victim impact letter that the court received from the victim’s family. Thompson denied the request. “The parties have exchanged some scientific evidence, which seems to be in tension with each other,” said Knutson. “I think that there is an ability to be more certain on that, but I don’t believe that burden has been met.” Knutson recommended a retained jurisdiction, or a rider, saying his client and the victim initially met and chatted for “weeks” on an adult dating website, where users are asked to confirm they are over 18 years old before being able to chat with others. RELATED | Man signs plea agreement after being accused of raping teenage boy in church parking lot Ryan Cook during his sentencing hearing. | Kaitlyn Hart, EastIdahoNews.com “For those weeks, my client had every reason to anticipate the person that he was communicating with was 18 years or older,” said Knutson. “He should’ve demanded proof of his age…he did not do that, judge.” Jefferson County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Peterson argued that Cook should be given a minimum of five and a maximum of 25 years in prison, stating that investigators found that Cook sees himself as the victim. “It is concerning to the state that we do have an individual that his main attraction is young boys,” said Peterson. “He sees himself as a victim, and so there’s some communication that treatment is going to be more difficult in the community.” Jefferson County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Peterson during Cook’s sentencing. | Kaitlyn Hart, EastIdahonews.com Cook read a statement to the court before the ruling, apologizing for not determining the exact age of the victim and for the damage he caused to those affected by his actions. “I’m really sorry. I was under an impression, and I went with that impression, and I should’ve done more on my part to find out before we met,” said Cook. “I am extremely sorry for the circumstances and for the victim and the suffering he has to go through.” Thompson then addressed Cook, calling him a groomer and saying he didn’t believe that Cook did not know the victim was under 18 years old. RELATED | Man knowingly gave HIV to 14-year-old boy during rape, court documents allege “In my opinion, there was a grooming here. You had to have some kind of inclination that you were dealing with somebody under 18,” said Thompson. “Your continued contact with this person and the arrangements being made is nothing less than grooming, and you can try to justify it all you want, but ‘somehow I didn’t know he was 14’, I’m just not buying into that.” Thompson explained that, due to the severity of the case and his obligation to deter not only Cook but others from committing these crimes, he was going to sentence him to more than the agreed-upon amount of prison time in the plea agreement. “At the end of the day, I’m just not satisfied that a minimum five-year term is the proper message,” said Thompson. “These cases are not easy for anybody.” Ryan Cook | Jefferson County Jail The post Rigby man sentenced for raping teen boy in church parking lot appeared first on East Idaho News.
Source: eastidahonews.com