CALDWELL, Idaho — A Boise man convicted of sexually abusing a family member from the time the victim was 6 years old to 11 years old has been sentenced to at least 13 years in prison, the Canyon County Prosecutor's Office announced Tuesday.
Judge Matthew J. Roker ordered Carl L. Batton, 43, to serve a sentence of 13 years fixed, followed by life indeterminate -- meaning when and if Batton is released from prison, he will remain on parole for the rest of his life.
Canyon County prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 25 years to life.
Batton was arrested and charged in June of 2021 with two counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16, following investigations by the Canyon County Sheriff's Office that found he had sexually abused an underage family member numerous times over the course of several years. The girl told detectives that Batton started abusing her when she was six years old, and that the abuse continued until she was 11 years old. Prosecutors said Batton later confessed during an interview with detectives.
At the time of his arrest in the Canyon County case, Batton was already a registered sex offender because of three previous convictions for child molestation in the 1990s, when he was a resident of Washington state.
After the sentencing in Canyon County, Prosecutor Bryan Taylor called Batton the "definition of a sexual predator."
In addition to a prison sentence of at least 13 years, Judge Roker ordered Batton to submit a DNA sample to the Idaho database, and to have no contact with the victim or any other children for the rest of his life. Batton also was ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty to the victim.
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