Pocatello man found guilty of rape, sexual battery of a child sent to prison

POCATELLO — A man who was found guilty of sexual battery of a child and rape has been sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison.

Wade William Denny, 36, was found guilty on both felony charges following a trial in November. At a sentencing hearing Thursday, District Judge Robert Naftz ordered he serve a prison term of 25 years for the sexual battery charge and a term of 25 to life for the rape charge, with credit for 540 days time served. Those sentences are to be served concurrently, court records show.

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Additionally, after reaching a plea agreement with the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office, Denny pleaded guilty to two felony counts of intimidating a witness. In exchange, another two felony charges of intimidating a witness along with 20 misdemeanor counts of violating a no-contact order were dismissed.

For those charges, Naftz ordered Denny serve five additional years to be served consecutively to the rape and sexual battery prison term.

Denny was arrested in February 2022 following a months-long investigation into the statutory rape of a 16-year-old girl — who was high on LSD provided by Denny at the time of the rape.

Police received a 911 call reporting the incident in August 2020. When officers found the frantic victim, she was paranoid and in fear of everything on the street.

She was taken to Portneuf Medical Center, where she was treated for apparent drug use. Medical personnel also administered a rape kit.

The rape kit returned DNA which was later matched to Denny. A sample of the victim’s blood showed positive results for carboxy THC, amphetamine, methamphetamine and lorazepam.

While in custody at Bannock County Jail, Denny made phone calls to a juvenile witness in violation of a no-contact order. During those phone conversations, Denny attempted to interfere with police investigations — telling the witness not to talk to police investigators.

In addition to the prison sentence, Denny has been ordered to pay $2,582 in fees and fines.