Idaho Man Arrested, Charged With Sexual Battery Of Minor: Police

A 43-year-old man in Boise, Idaho, has been arrested and charged with the alleged sexual battery of a teenager earlier this week.

The suspect, identified as James Burns, of Emmett, was booked into the Ada County Jail Thursday, a news release from the Meridian Police Department stated.

He was charged with felony sexual battery of a minor child between 16 and 17 years old and misdemeanor sexual battery, according to police and online court records cited by Idaho Statesman.

As of Friday afternoon, Burns was still in custody on a $150,000 bond, jail records showed.

Burns is accused of battering an unidentified juvenile who was working near the area of E. Franklin and N. Main Street in Meridian, Idaho, Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Meridian police, through a release the following day, sought the help of the public in identifying the male suspect.

At around 11:15 a.m. Thursday, Burns returned to the scene where the alleged crime occurred, according to the police department. However, he had already left when cops arrived.

Hours later, police gave an update on the case and said that they had apprehended Burns following a quick search.

Burns is set to appear in court on Dec. 29 at 8:30 a.m. for a preliminary hearing.

Meridian police believe there could be more victims and are calling on the public to contact them at 208-888-6678 if they have any information.

In related news, two Idaho men were each sentenced this week in U.S. District Court for separate crimes against federal officers.

Walter High Eagle, 51, was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison for assault on an officer and for the use of a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime in connection with a July 17, 2020, incident, according to court records cited by News 8.

Eagle, of Fort Hall, was a convicted felon and was unlawfully in possession of a firearm.

John Roger March was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for threatening a federal officer on Jan. 20, 2021.

At the time, the 60-year-old man allegedly stole a rug from a post office in Boise. Postal inspectors from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and a Boise police officer went to March's residence in Boise to question him about the theft. March became hostile with law enforcement, court records showed.

March drove his car toward a postal inspector until March's right-side mirror collided with the postal inspector's government vehicle. Officers arrested March for assault.

The following day, March made a threatening telephone call from the Ada County Jail with intent to impede, intimidate and interfere with the postal inspector's performance of his official duties, according to the court records.