10-year sentence in child abuse case

WALLACE — Admitted child abuser Sean Reed was sentenced on Wednesday morning during law day at the Shoshone County Courthouse.

Reed, 31, was arrested in June of this year after being kicked out of his former girlfriend’s home — after she had alleged that Reed had been abusing her non-verbal 3-year-old son.

Reed was initially charged with six counts of felony injury to a child stemming from three different incidents in April and May.

The victim’s mother reported the incident to law enforcement — first the Kellogg Police Department, and was then assisted by the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office during the investigation.

Her report stated that she had noticed some bruising on the child that seemingly appeared overnight and thought it was potentially injuries sustained from sleepwalking. However, after multiple incidents that resulted in severe head trauma, she began keeping a much closer eye on him which led to a disturbing conclusion and subsequently filing the report that led to Reed’s arrest.

The victim’s mother willingly spoke with the News-Press following Reed’s arrest as well as multiple times over the following months, explaining the nature of the abuse, and that she even had video evidence of one of the incidents — which was kept private so it could be used as evidence during the legal proceedings.

In September, Reed pled guilty to two of the counts of felony injury to a child — the most common charge used by the state in child abuse investigations. Each count carried with it a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in a state correctional facility and potentially up to $50,000 in fines.

The state argued for two unified 10-year sentences to run consecutively, consisting of nine years fixed plus one year indeterminate on each count for a total 20-year unified sentence of 18 years fixed plus two indeterminate.

Shoshone County Prosecutor Ben Allen played the video from the victim’s bedroom of Reed battering the child, the victim’s mother provided testimony during the sentencing where she discussed the traumatic effects Reed’s actions have had on her family.

Ultimately, Judge Duggan sentenced Reed to two unified 10-year sentences to run concurrently, consisting of five years fixed and five years indeterminate. The judge also granted a no-contact order in favor of the victim, victim’s mother, and all of the minor children in the home for a period of 10 years.

“What I can relay to this court is the importance of this court’s sentence in ensuring that there is not another minor child who falls victim to the defendant’s acts of aggression in the future,” Allen said. “When we look at the goals of sentencing, protection of society being paramount, and supported by other goals which in this case, specific deterrence and rehabilitation are of particular importance, we see that a lengthy period of incarceration is appropriate, but a period of indeterminate time is also necessary to ensure there are safeguards and supervision in place for the defendant, if and when the time comes for him to reenter society.”