TWIN FALLS, Idaho — An Idaho man charged with placing an online ad seeking men to force their way into a house and rape his wife has pleaded guilty to solicitation of rape.
The 33-year-old Twin Falls man pleaded guilty Thursday in 5th District Court to posting an ad on Craigslist claiming to be the woman and asking to be raped. He acknowledged exchanging pictures and messages with men who answered the ad. A sentencing date has not been set.
The Associated Press is withholding the defendant’s name to protect the victim’s identity.
Court records say the case came to light after two men broke into the woman’s house on consecutive days in July 2012.
The first intruder chased the woman through the house until she shot at him. She missed and he fled.
She held the second man at gunpoint until police arrived. He told officers he had responded to an ad on Craigslist’s “casual encounters” section that he believed was placed by a woman with a rape fantasy. He said he exchanged emails with the person who placed the ad and was given the woman’s address.
“He was told to force his way inside and rape the woman there and not stop no matter how much she resisted,” investigators wrote in their report.
Officers determined the emails originated from an account available to the defendant at his work.
The defendant’s attorney rejected a previous plea agreement from the state that called for a 10- to 15-year prison sentence. Thursday’s plea agreement does not include a sentencing recommendation.
The defendant’s attorney said his client is a member of the Idaho National Guard, has been placed on incapacitation pay and is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder. He said he plans to ask if the defendant can be sentenced in mental health court or veterans’ court instead of District Court.
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