Idaho Woman Who Had Sexual Relations With Underage Boys Avoids Registering As Sex Offender

An Idaho woman, who admitted to having sexual relations with an underage teen, took a plea deal to avoid having to register as a sex offender if convicted.

Amanda Katherine Steele of Soda Springs admitted to the charges of having an illegal sexual relationship with an underage boy in 2016. Steele, who was formerly from Arco, admitted that the two had sex at least twice - once at the teen’s house and another time at her residence.

According to the prosecutors, the 35-year-old married woman would lure the 17-year-old boy to skip school and also the Latter-day Saint seminary in order to meet and have sex with her.

Even though the sexual act was consensual, Steele was charged because according to the state law, a minor of the age 16 and 17 cannot consent to have a sexual relationship with a person who is five or more years older than them.

The Butte County Sheriff’s office began an investigation in 2017 after Steele’s father-in-law informed the deputies that he heard rumors about a group of teenage boys hanging out with his daughter-in-law at her home.

In April 2018, when the deputies spoke to Steele, she said there were several teenage boys who would come over to her home but she wouldn’t disclose their names.

When Steele was asked by the investigators whether she had engaged in sexual activities with the boys, she replied, "I don’t really want to talk about it until I have to," the court documents stated.

A probable cause statement obtained by East Idaho News stated that when the deputies spoke to the victims about the incidents, they failed to provide a satisfying response regarding their relationship with Steele and remained vague about the same due to which the investigation was stalled.

Finally, Steele was arrested in 2019 after her husband came home to find her in a hot tub having intimate time with an underage boy. Upon confronting, Steele admitted that she was having sex with multiple minor boys.

When the investigators spoke to one of the victims again in 2019, he admitted to having sex with Steele while he was underage.

"(The victim) told me he knew several of his friends had sex with her too but didn’t know anyone else besides (a second victim) had been under 18," a deputy stated in the police report.

Steele pleaded guilty to two felony counts of injury to a child. Following the investigation that began in 2017, prosecutors initially charged Steele with three felony counts of child sexual battery committed by lewd conduct but later revised the charges after she decided to take the plea deal.

As part of the plea deal, the Judge avoided charging Steele with a sex crime due to which she will not be registered as a sex offender.

However, Steele will spend 90 days in prison followed by seven years on felony probation. In exchange for the plea deal, Judge Simpson suspended a three to 10-year-prison sentence that Steele could still face if she fails to adhere to her probation norms, Crimeonline reported.

Steele would also have to complete 300 hours of community service and will be entitled to pay $4,671 in the form of fees and fines. Steele would remain behind bars for the next three months.