Convicted Montana sex offender arrested for raping teen in southern Idaho | Idaho

A 38-year-old convicted sex offender was recently arrested after authorities said he raped a 14-year-old girl in Lava Hot Springs in December.

Joshua Everett Hancock, 38, of Montana, was charged with one felony count of lewd conduct with a child under 16 after the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation in March, according to police and court records recently obtained by the Idaho State Journal had received.

The sheriff’s office initially learned of the incident through a referral from the Idaho Department of Health and Human Services after the victim told a counselor about the incident, authorities said.

The girl then participated in a forensic interview at a local child protection center, where she again disclosed the abuse, the report said.

The teen said during the interview that she was at a friend’s house in December playing Fortnite when Hancock provided her and her friend with Jameson whiskey, authorities said.

The girl said she was heavily intoxicated and asked Hancock to drive her back to her home in Lava Hot Springs, adding that while she was driving, Hancock got out of the vehicle to go to the bathroom, reports said in the report. According to authorities, the girl vomited twice in the vehicle.

When Hancock got back into the vehicle, he removed the girls’ pants and underwear and raped them, authorities said.

According to the report, the girl felt disgusting after the incident. Additionally, the girl said she accidentally left her cellphone in Hancock’s vehicle and had to drive to the truck to pick it up the next day, authorities said.

The girl’s father said she knew Hancock and encountered him after the alleged rape and noticed him acting strangely and not making eye contact with him, the report said.

Sheriff’s officials interviewed the person who took the teenage girl to retrieve her phone, and she revealed that she remembered seeing vomit on the girl’s hoodie when she took her, authorities said .

Sheriff’s officials organized a confrontation call in which the 14-year-old girl called Hancock and told her she was pregnant, authorities said, adding that Hancock did not deny the allegations but instead told the girl that he was in places I’m going to stop by Montana to “take you in and take care of you.”

Authorities also conducted a search of the teen victim’s phone, which found text messages and a short video consistent with the girl’s statement that she initially played Fortnite before she began getting drunk, authorities said.

An arrest warrant was issued for Hancock on March 21 and he was arrested on Wednesday. Hancock posted $50,000 bail Thursday and was released from jail.

His first court appearance is scheduled for May 22.

If convicted of the indecent behavior charge, he could face life in prison.