Idaho Falls man gets probation for statutory rape of a minor in 2018

IDAHO FALLS – A 29-year-old man was sentenced to probation Thursday after pleading guilty to raping a teen in 2018.

District Judge Michael Whyte sentenced Devin Willcoxon to a minimum of four years and a maximum of fifteen years in prison. Whyte then suspended the sentence and placed Willcoxon on probation for 10 years.

He will also serve 45 days in jail on work release with credit for two days already served.

Willcoxon will be required to pay fines and fees of $4,000 and register as a sex offender.

After initially pleading not guilty to felony rape of a victim who is 16 or 17 years of age and the perpetrator is 3 or more years older than the victim, Willcoxon accepted a plea agreement in which he agreed to plead guilty to the charge if the prosecution agreed to recommend probation along with a no-contact order for the victim for 20 years.

Willcoxon and the victim previously mediated the case through District Judge Jon Shindurling and reportedly agreed to these conditions.

Sentencing

During the sentencing, Willcoxon’s attorney, Curtis Smith, argued that Willcoxon only has a single misdemeanor for a DUI in his criminal history and that he felt sorry about the events that occurred.

“There are days where I know my client would love to go back and take back what happened. This was a scenario where he was a manager, and this person was an employee, and they got friendly, and things happened that shouldn’t have happened,” said Smith. “He’s thought about this a lot since it happened, he wishes he could go back and change it, but he can’t.”

The state, represented by prosecuting attorney James Davis, stood by the agreement, recommending a term of probation.

“The victim was 15, 16 years old at the time, they worked together, and I believe he was in his early 20’s. Essentially, he knew what he was doing was wrong and manipulated her and the situation. He said things to her like that she was the only thing he had left in his life,” said Davis. “And for three years, she didn’t report this because she just recently got the courage to come forward to report this to law enforcement. Over this period of time, the defendant had even mentioned to the victim, ‘don’t tell anybody or I’ll get in trouble.'”

No defense witnesses or victim impact statements were read during court, and when Willcoxon was asked if he would like to make a statement, he responded briefly, saying, “I would like to say that I am very sorry for the things that happened.”

Whyte then explained the reasoning behind the sentencing, saying that Willcoxon is more likely to be rehabilitated in the community than in prison.

“This court is looking at an individual, and there is a punishment aspect that it has to be aware of. And yet a significant lengthy, immediate punishment actually makes you more dangerous to society statistically,” said Whyte. “Individuals that have no criminal history that are placed in the correctional system actually come out of that correctional system more likely to commit crimes in the future than if we address your problems through a probationary period.”

Background of the case

In July 2022, Willcoxon was charged with felony rape of a victim who is 16 or 17 years of age, and the perpetrator is three or more years older than the victim.

A motion to seal the probable cause affidavit was ordered on July 1, meaning little detail is available to the public about the circumstances surrounding the charges.

During his sentencing, we learned that Willcoxon was the manager at a business, and the victim was an employee. The sexual abuse reportedly occurred for three years before the victim reported it to police.