Joseph Stephen West, 55, of Ohatchee entered guilty pleas on three charges of second-degree sodomy, one charge of soliciting impersonation of a police officer, one charge of soliciting interference with custody and one charge of soliciting intimidation of a witness, according to Jennifer Weems, the county prosecutor who tried the case.
West was arrested in 2008 after two teen boys accused him of sodomy. A third man, then in his 40s, also came forward accusing West of performing similar acts on him in his teens.
Criminal solicitation charges were brought against West soon afterward, after a local resident came forward saying that West had tried to hire him to kidnap one of the teen boys and intimidate the boy into not testifying.
West was released on bond after the 2008 arrest, and was confined to his home, where a GPS-equipped ankle bracelet was supposed to keep track of his movements.
The bracelet didn’t stop West from returning to his old habits, his accusers say.
According to prosecutors, the conditions of West’s release did allow him to leave home for doctor’s visits — including trips to take children to the doctor. West convinced a parent to allow him to take a 15-year-old boy to the doctor in January. West later confined the boy in his home, taking away his cell phone and plying him with gifts in a way that, according to law-enforcement officials, echoed his behavior with earlier victims.
The boy escaped through the back door of West’s house and contacted his parents. West has been in jail ever since.
West pleaded guilty to all the charges, and faced sentencing Thursday. Weems said West agreed to a plea deal knowing that he would likely get between 15 and 20 years in prison.
But West asked for a split sentence, one that would divide his time between jail and house arrest, Weems said. Laird granted that request, Weems said. According to Weems, West got a 20-year sentence divided between four years of jail time and 16 years on house arrest. Laird gave West credit for time already served, Weems said, cutting his jail time to three years.
Efforts Thursday to reach Laird and West’s attorney, Jake Mathews, were unsuccessful.
The decision angered Bill Smith, the former police officer who says West tried to hire him to kidnap one of the boys in the case.
“This burns me up,” he said. “They’re going to put him right back out there when they know he’ll do it again.”
Smith claims he wore a wire and worked with police to help convict West on the criminal soliciting charges. Weems wouldn’t comment on Smith’s role in the investigation.
Smith says the house arrest would put West back in the same position he was in February — confined to his home with a GPS ankle bracelet.
Weems confirmed that after the jail term, West would likely be monitored and unable to leave his home except for doctor’s visits. She noted that, under the terms of his sentence, West would not be allowed to be around children.
Weems said the county and the victims strongly opposed the split sentence.
“He has shown a record of committing sexual offenses over a decade,” she said.
Star assistant metro editor Tim Lockette: 256-235-3560.
