Month: March 2026

InvestigateWest

Editor’s note: The article discusses sexual assault. “Guarded by Predators” is a new investigative series obtained through partnership with InvestigateWest, exposing rape and abuse by Idaho’s prison guards and the system that shields them. Find the entire series at investigatewest.org/guarded-by-predators.

Originally Posted: March 4, 2026

by Whitney Bryen, InvestigateWest

BOISE, Idaho — Spurred by InvestigateWest reporting that exposed sexual abuse by Idaho women’s prison staff, lawmakers are advancing legislation meant to close a gap in state law that makes it difficult to hold correctional officers accountable.

The state’s “sexual contact with a prisoner” law protects inmates from abuse only when staff touch the victim’s genitals or they’re made to touch the genitals of staff, omitting abuses such as kissing or groping. This falls short of federal Prison Rape Elimination Act standards, which prohibit all inappropriate touching and even suggestive comments or voyeurism by prison staff. Former prosecutors say the state’s narrow definition is partly why accountability for correctional officers accused of sexual abuse — even when a guard seemingly confesses to it — remains rare.

House Bill 696 would expand Idaho’s definition of sexual contact to include “any willful physical contact, over or under the clothing, when the physical contact is done with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passion, or sexual desires of the actor or any other person.” The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted unanimously to advance the bill during a hearing on Friday, Feb. 27, sending it to the full House for consideration. The House is expected to vote on the bill later this week. If it passes the House, the bill will still need to pass the Senate and be signed by the governor before being implemented.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls, said the proposal was prompted by a series of October reports by InvestigateWest exposing sexual abuse allegations against dozens of women’s prison guards — most of whom avoided criminal charges. 

The investigation found 37 prison workers accused in the last decade of sexual misconduct toward incarcerated women. But only three of those prison guards were criminally charged with sexual contact, and just one received a prison sentence, which he avoided after serving a nine-month rehabilitation alternative offered by the Idaho Department of Correction. 

Erickson’s bill aims to hold more correctional officers accountable and send a message that sexual interactions with inmates will not be tolerated. 

“In my mind, these guys, or girls, are predators,“ Erickson told InvestigateWest about why he introduced the bill. “I don’t want to put more people in prison, but I want to deter them from doing this, and I think this is how we have to do that.”

A view of the State Capitol reflected in the Joe R. Williams Building in Boise, Idaho on February 13, 2026. (Otto Kitsinger/InvestigateWest)

In 1993, Idaho made it a felony for correctional officers to have sexual contact with inmates, long before the U.S. Department of Justice developed its standards under the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Incarcerated victims often go along with or reluctantly agree to sexual requests from guards because they’re afraid of what will happen if they say no. For that reason, federal and state laws say that inmates cannot consent to sexual contact and only require proof that the contact occurred. 

Idaho’s law, written by a former Ada County deputy prosecutor, carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and lacks a mandatory minimum sentence, leaving penalties up to the judge’s discretion. 

Erickson told lawmakers that Idaho Department of Correction Director Bree Derrick is in favor of the bill. In an email to InvestigateWest, the department said it does not comment on pending legislation. However, during a Board of Correction meeting on Wednesday, March 4, Tina Transue, the Department of Correction’s government relations advisor, supported the bill. Transue told InvestigateWest, “we’re excited that it gives us more teeth” and “brings us more in line with (the Prison Rape Elimination Act).”  

Idaho State Police, the agency that investigates criminal allegations against prison staff, did not respond to messages from InvestigateWest seeking comment for this story. The bill’s expanded definition of sexual contact could result in more police investigations and prosecutions of accused prison workers.    

During the Feb. 27 committee hearing, Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise, who supported the bill’s advancement, asked a question sent to him by a constituent: Would the bill make a hug between a guard and inmate a felony punishable by life in prison? 

“No, that would not be the case,” Erickson said, “because a simple hug is not for the purpose of sexual gratification.”

Other state laws still make it illegal to touch the groin, inner thighs, buttocks, breasts or genital area of any person, including an inmate, without their consent. For those crimes against an inmate, guards can be charged with felony or misdemeanor sexual battery. But those charges rarely happen because unlike sexual contact with a prisoner, Idaho’s sexual battery laws don’t recognize the power that prison staff hold over the people in their custody and, therefore, require prosecutors to prove that the victim did not consent. 

Andrea Weiskircher, who accused five prison workers of sexually abusing her while she was incarcerated, spoke at the hearing in support of the bill.

“Five individuals who were entrusted with complete authority over my life, my housing, my movement, my discipline, my safety, they use that authority to exploit and violate me,” Weiskircher told lawmakers. “Because of the way Idaho’s current laws are written none of my perpetrators will ever be held accountable. They are free. They are able to work in other correctional facilities, and as the law stands today, I will never see justice.”

In addition to Weiskircher, three Idaho women also urged lawmakers to pass the bill, including Boise attorney and women’s rights advocate Audrey Numbers, during last week’s hearing. 

“Idaho incarcerates more women per capita than any state in the United States by a huge percentage, a great deal, yet we do not properly protect and care for the women who are incarcerated in Idaho,” Numbers said. “We need to do much more to protect and care for them. This bill is just at least a small step toward providing them some additional protection from exploitation and abuse by guards ostensibly hired to protect them.” 

Joseph Filicetti, who penned the 1993 law as a “bright line” between illegal and permissible contact, is now a defense attorney who represented one of the guards charged with sexual contact with a prisoner. He said last year that the law as it stands doesn’t do enough to protect people in custody.

Erickson said the bill on its own does not go far enough to protect incarcerated people. He plans to address the state’s failure to properly investigate officers accused of sexually abusing the people in their care next year. 

“This was the easiest, quickest fix, but next year there will possibly be some other things that make sure that the internal investigations are happening a little stronger,” Erickson said. “And Idaho State Police has indicated that they’re going to ramp up their efforts on that as well.”

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News Team

Originally Posted Wed, March 4, 2026 at 9:39 AM on CBS2

By Ryan Oswald

PAYETTE, Idaho (CBS2) — Stacey Wondra, the man accused of kidnapping and killing 5-year-old Michael “Monkey” Vaughan, is back in court on Wednesday as part of a preliminary hearing to determine whether or not the prosecution can take the case against him to trial.

The hearing began on Tuesday morning. Michael’s mother and father, Brandi and Tyler, were the first to testify. The couple individually testifying to the emotional and terrifying first moments of Michael’s disappearance from their home in Fruitland. Three separate K9 handlers, each who aided in various aspects of the search for Michael, also testified. Two of the handlers have specialized K9s that search for and detect human remains. Both dogs indicated the presence of human remains in the backyard of Sarah and Stacey Wondra’s home, though Michael’s body has not yet been found.

Juanita Kelleher, a Fruitland Police officer, was the first to testify on Wednesday morning. Officer Kelleher was involved in the investigation to find Michael from the very beginning. Officer Kelleher testified that every resource available, including professional search and rescue crews, dogs, and even helicopters, were brought in to assist. She also said that video from surrounding areas shows that Michael didn’t leave the neighborhood on foot.

Officer Kelleher testified that she identified a white Lexus, which belonged to Stacey Wondra, pulled into the parking lot of a park and splash pad near Michael’s home. According to Kelleher, Stacey was seen on video getting out of his car, testing the door handle on the passenger side. Traffic cameras also show a different vehicle belonging to the Wondras, a maroon pickup truck, left their home some time after 8:00 pm the night Michael disappeared.

Video of an interview with Stacey Wondra in 2022 with Fruitland Police was played in court. Wondra was an inmate at the Washington County Jail on unrelated charges at the time, was played in court. Stacey told detectives that he was trying to give them everything he knows, but wants to know what sort of plea deal he could receive. Stacey told detectives on the video, that he “wanted to help find Michael.” The video interview appears to show Stacey attempting to negotiate a deal in exchange for helping find Michael.

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Kevin Richert

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 4, 2026

By Ryan Suppe and Kevin Richert, IdahoEdNews:

BOSIE, Idaho — Betty Grandy showed up prepared Wednesday morning.

She had data. She had a case study from a neighboring state. She’d already bounced her proposal off Gov. Brad Little.

Twin Falls fourth grader Betty Grandy speaks to the Senate State Affairs Committee Wednesday. Her bill to make hunting Idaho’s official sport is now headed to the Senate for a final vote. (Kevin Richert/Idaho EdNews)

Betty also had backup: her parents, a younger sister, her grandfather.

Minutes later, Betty had the Senate State Affairs Committee on her side. Equally persuaded and charmed, the committee unanimously endorsed the Twin Falls homeschooled fourth grader’s bill designating hunting as Idaho’s state sport.

Grandy, 9, told lawmakers that Idaho already has a host of state symbols. But no state sport — unlike other states, like Wyoming, which honors rodeo.

But when Betty polled readers of the Grandy Gazette, a newspaper she shares with family and friends, she found support for a different sport. “Hunting was a clear winner.”

Betty Grandy, 9, second from left, is flanked by her sister Margot, 7, and her parents, Neill and Diana. (Kevin Richert/Idaho EdNews)

Making her subscribers’ case, Betty said a state designation would honor hunting’s place in Idaho’s heritage. And, she said, it would ensure that future fourth graders learn about the role hunting plays in the state.

After presenting the evidence, Betty did what every savvy lobbyist learns to do. She employed some people skills. “I’m grateful you are willing to consider an idea from a kid,” she said.

“You might be the best public speaker in this room,” said Sen. Ben Adams, R-Nampa.

“Good luck following that,” said Rep. Grayson Stone, R-Twin Falls, as the bill’s Senate sponsor, Meridian Republican Treg Bernt, prepared to close the presentation.

But by then, the committee’s mind was clearly made up.

“Sen. Bernt, sit down,” said Sen. Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs, wryly.

The hunting bill now goes to the Senate floor for a final vote. It passed the House unanimously on Feb. 23.

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Ryan Suppe

Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 4, 2026

By Ryan Suppe and Kevin Richert, IdahoEdNews:

BOISE, Idaho — The House Education Committee deadlocked Wednesday on a bill punishing student walkouts, effectively killing it for this legislative session. 

House Bill 794 would have required that public schools count protest walkouts as unexcused absences. A motion to advance the bill failed on a 7-7 tie, amid concerns that the bill would infringe on free speech rights and parents’ right to excuse their children from school. 

“This is an assault on parental rights,” said Rep. Chris Mathias, D-Boise. “And unless we can articulate a significant state interest in this restriction … this is not going to withstand constitutional scrutiny.”

Rep. Steve Tanner, R-Nampa (Brandon Schertler/Idaho EdNews)

Sponsoring Rep. Steve Tanner gave the committee printouts of news articles on recent student protests. Students from Boise to McCall to Idaho Falls have staged school walkouts in recent weeks to protest federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. 

“It’s a waste of taxpayer money for students to leave their classrooms to (protest),” said Tanner, R-Nampa. “Students are free to protest at any other time.”

Rep. Clint Hostetler, who supported the bill, said walkouts are disruptive and students are being used as a “political tool.”

“When we have large groups of children walking out to protest, many times, probably, for what they don’t understand or what they’ve been told without critical thinking itself, there’s some big issues there,” said Hostetler, R-Twin Falls. 

A Boise junior high student and his mother testified against the bill during Wednesday’s public hearing.

Cruz Beazer from South Junior High School said he helped organize a recent walkout. It occurred in the last 20 minutes of the school day — during a class period designed for students to catch up on late work. “We made sure we were not in disruption of other classes,” Beazer said. 

Jenn Beazer said she excused her son from school to protest — and to testify Wednesday. “I have lots of opportunities to be proud of my son,” Jenn Beazer said, through tears. “I was very proud that day, and I’m very proud this day, too.”

Rep. Dan Garner, who opposed the bill, recalled a walkout during his school days. Garner, R-Clifton, said he protested a school policy that forbade girls from wearing Levi’s jeans. “We learned more about government and how it should work in the democracy of the United States in that afternoon than I did the whole year in government class,” he said.

Rep. Dan Garner, R-Clifton (Brandon Schertler/Idaho EdNews)

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