FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
| Date: | May 26, 2022 |
| Contact: | Emily Lowe Public Information Officer 208-287-7700 |
| RE: | State v. Kyle Baxter – Sentencing |
BOISE – On Wednesday, a 39-year-old man who stalked teenage victims at local Ada County parks, and possessed sexually exploitative material of children was sentenced to serve at least two decades in prison.
From April to August of 2021, Kyle C. Baxter stalked several teenage girls at multiple parks in Ada County. On one occasion, he grabbed a victim’s buttocks. On another, he made a sexually suggestive comment and appeared to be recording the victim. He texted one of the victims following an encounter at the park, and attempted to engage her in sexual conversation. Mr. Baxter was arrested in August 2021 after three of his victims saw Ada County Sheriff’s deputies at a Kuna park where Mr. Baxter had been stalking them and reported the conduct to the deputies. The victims told law enforcement they recognized Mr. Baxter as having followed them at a Meridian park earlier that summer. The defendant was later found to be in possession of hundreds of sexually exploitative images and videos of minors.
Honorable Ada County District Judge James Cawthon sentenced Mr. Baxter to 35 years in prison, with 20 years fixed before being eligible for parole. At Wednesday’s sentencing, Judge Cawthon described the defendant’s actions as “traumatizing and inexcusable,” and stated his conduct was “rooted with sexual offenses being the goal.”
“I want to thank the victims in this case for speaking out and reporting the alarming conduct by the defendant,” said Ada County Prosecutor Jan Bennetts. “Their courage to come forward quickly to report, and the Meridian Police officers’ and Ada County Sheriff’s deputies’ thorough follow up of these investigations, allowed my office to ensure justice was served.”
The defendant was charged with seven felonies, including four first-degree stalking charges, two counts of possession of sexually exploitative material of a child, and one count of sexual abuse of a minor under 16. Mr. Baxter pled guilty in March 2022, to one count of felony first-degree stalking, one count of sexual abuse of a minor under 16, and two counts of possession of sexually exploitative material of a minor.