Local man charged with two sex crimes after teenager reports being drugged, raped

POCATELLO — A 35-year-old local man accused of recently possessing marijuana with the intent to deliver has also been charged with two sex crimes against a child in connection to an incident in August 2020, according to court and police records.

Wade William Denny, of Pocatello, has been charged with sexual battery of a child, statutory rape where the victim is age 16 or 17 and the defendant is older by three or more years and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver, all felonies. He also faces a misdemeanor charge of violating a no-contact order

The sex crime charges stem from a Pocatello police investigation that began in August 2020. The felony marijuana possession with the intent to deliver and no-contact order violation charges were filed after an incident on Feb. 2 in the 1400 block of West Quinn Road, court records show.

In August 2020, Pocatello police were dispatched to the 1900 block of South Fourth Avenue after a 16-year-old girl dialed 911 to report she was afraid of all the people out on the street, police said

Police came into contact with the girl upon their arrival to the scene and observed she was exhibiting signs of paranoia and fear, said police, adding that when asked why she was afraid, the 16-year-old said she had been “sold out” by Denny.

Officers entered Denny’s information into a law enforcement database and discovered he lived about a block away from where police came into contact with the girl, according to police.

While police were transporting the 16-year-old girl to Portneuf Medical Center for treatment, she made statements that she had possibly been drugged and raped, so a toxicology analysis and sexual assault examination were performed at the hospital, police said.

Police interviewed the teenager’s grandmother the day after the incident. During the interview, the grandmother said the 16-year-old told her that she had apparently been given a substance that caused her to lose consciousness and that when she woke up her pants had been removed and it seemed as if her bra had been removed and put back on incorrectly, police said.

In September 2020, the Idaho State Police forensic lab returned results of the toxicology analysis to Pocatello police, which indicated the teenager had amphetamines, marijuana and Lorazepam in her system, court records show

The results of the sexual assault examination were provided to Pocatello police in December 2020, which tested positive for the presence of male DNA, police said.

The results of the sexual assault examination revealed the presence of DNA from two different men, of which both were entered into the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS, police said.

In June 2021, it was determined that while one of the samples belonged to an unidentified man, the other sample matched a known sample collected from Denny, according to police.

Initially, the investigation into the sexual assault allegations resulted in Denny being charged with four counts of injury to a child and providing shelter to a runaway juvenile, all misdemeanors, according to court records.

A one-year no-contact order was issued between Denny and the 16-year-old girl on June 29, 2021. In September 2021, Denny was convicted of one count of injury to a child and the providing shelter to a runaway juvenile charge pursuant to a plea agreement and was sentenced to six months of supervised misdemeanor probation.

It wasn’t until Denny was recently arrested for allegedly possessing marijuana with the intent to deliver the substance that the felony sexual battery of a child and statutory rape charges filed against him, court records show.

The felony drug possession charges were filed against Denny on Feb. 3 following a traffic stop on Feb. 2, according to court and police records.

Pocatello police around 6:40 p.m. on Feb. 2 were dispatched to the 1400 block of West Quinn Road for the report of a verbal disturbance and upon arrival located Denny in the driver’s seat of a gray Chevrolet Impala, according to police. The 16-year-old girl whom he had a no-contact order with was sitting in the backseat, police said.

Police could smell a strong odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle and subsequently searched the car, according to police reports. Inside a backpack on the floor behind the driver’s seat, officers located several packages of marijuana, a scale and plastic baggies, police said.

Denny was charged with felony possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver and a misdemeanor for violating the no-contact order between the 16-year-old girl.

Once incarcerated at the Bannock County Jail, the officer who investigated the alleged sexual assaults informed jail staff to also file the felony sexual battery of a child and statutory rape charges, according to police.

Denny currently remains incarcerated at the Bannock County Jail with a $100,000 bond on the felony sex crime charges. He was bound over to district court on Feb. 15 following a preliminary hearing. He is set to be arraigned in district court on March 7, after which a trial date will be set.

If convicted of the felony statutory rape charge alone, Denny faces no less than one year and up to life in prison as well as a fine of up to $50,000. The felony sexual battery of a child charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000. The felony possession of a controlled substance charge with the intent to deliver also carries a maximum penalty of up to life in prison.