A WOMAN faces life in prison after allegedly coaxing multiple underage teenage boys out of school to have sex with them – sometimes filming the affairs.
Amanda Katherine Steele was arrested by authorities after her husband told police that he caught her in the family hot tub with a teenage boy.
It was after the couple's divorce that Steele’s ex-husband contacted deputies in July 2019 saying Steele admitted to him she had sex with the underage boys.
He then apparently informed investigators that in an earlier interview, he was more concerned about saving their marriage than telling them the truth.
The East Idaho News reports the woman from the town of Soda Springs has now opted to take her case to a jury after she pleaded not guilty to sex crimes involving multiple teenagers.
Ms.Steele appeared in a Butte County District Court for her arraignment on three felony counts of child sexual battery committed by lewd conduct following an investigation that began in 2017.
The paper says law enforcement’s investigation led to multiple teenage boys saying they engaged in sexual activity with Steele in 2016 with one encounter allegedly recorded on camera.
Although the victims considered the sexual conduct consensual, prosecutors charged Steele because, under Idaho law, a minor who is 16 and 17 cannot consent to sex with adults five or more years older than them.
INVESTIGATION
The investigation stalled in the spring of 2018 with the reported victims, Steele and others not giving specific answers during interviews, the paper revealed.
Investigators spoke with one of the teenagers again in 2019, and he then allegedly admitted to having sex with Steele while underage.
One said he used a GoPro camera to record one of the sexual encounters, but the computer with the file was destroyed.
He told investigators he would skip school and Latter-day Saint seminary and go to Steele’s home to have sex.
“(The victim) told me he knew several of his friends had sex with her too but didn’t know anyone else besides (a second victim) had been under 18,” a deputy wrote in his report.
The Butte County Sheriff’s office began investigating when Steele’s father-in-law contacted deputies in late 2017 after hearing rumors that a group of boys would hang out with his daughter-in-law at her home in Butte County.
Deputies spoke with the victims and they remained vague about their relationships with Steele, the probable cause statement states.
One teenager said he didn’t want to press charges against Steele saying he “didn’t think it was a big deal.”
He also said he was a willing participant in the sexual activity.
The paper said when detectives spoke with Steele in April 2018, they said she told them several teenage boys came over but she would not give names.
When deputies asked about engaging in inappropriate activities, she said, “I don’t really want to talk about it until I have to,” according to court documents.
They said a deputy wrote in his report that Steele told him situations arose that “could lead someone to engage in sexual activity with an underage boy,” but she would not elaborate.
She also said others were dealing with the same thing, but would not give names, saying it would affect an entire community.
'HE'S BEING RIDICLOUS'
In July 2019, the paper reports Steele’s ex-husband contacted deputies about the allegations again.
He had been present during the April 2018 interview and said he knew a lot about the alleged sexual activities.
He said Steele admitted to engaging in sex with the underage boys.
It is claimed that the former husband told investigators that he came home one day to find her and one of the victims getting close in the hot tub.
When he tried stopping the activity, he claims Steele became upset and would “tell him he’s being ridiculous.”
Since Steele moved to Soda Springs by the time of her arrest in November 2019, Caribou County deputies booked her into their jail on a warrant and posted the $50,000 bond.
A jury trial for Steele is set to begin June 10 in Butte County.
If she is convicted, each charge holds a maximum sentence of life in prison, the paper reports.
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