Leslie
Peter Bowcut, 28, Burley, ID
Bowcut is among a group of parents accused of sexually molesting their own
children and sending pornographic pictures of them worldwide over the Internet,
U.S. Customs officials say
A Burley man is among 10 Americans and 10 Europeans accused of participating in
an international child porn ring in which parents sexually molested their own
children and exchanged obscene pictures on the Internet. Photographer Leslie
Peter Bowcut, 28, already faces up to 14 consecutive life terms in prison after
pleading guilty to state child sexual abuse charges last month. The federal
indictments allege that 45 children, including 37 in the United States who
ranged in age from 2 to 14, were victims and have been removed from the care of
the suspects, federal officials said. Eighty percent of the children were
molested by their own parents, according to officials. Bowcut pleaded guilty in
Idaho 5th District Court to 14 counts of lewd and lascivious conduct with minors
and now faces the additional federal charges. His guilty pleas involve three
children, including two of his own, ages 3 and 5. He is being held without bond
in the Cassia County jail, and sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 11. Bowcut´s
case stunned residents in and around the small Southeast Idaho community. We are
saddened that this could happen on our doorstep, and (we did) not even know it,
said Pat Gebauer of Heyburn. The Cassia County Sheriff's Office has been
investigating Bowcut since February, Sheriff Jim Higgins said. He pleaded guilty
to the 14 counts as part of a plea bargain last month. He was a professional
photographer, and he took an awful lot of photos of girls in modeling poses,
Higgins said. A criminal complaint alleges Bowcut engaged in a variety of sexual
activities with minors from January 2000 through September 2001. He was
originally charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse. Some Burley-area residents
expressed outrage that many of those counts were dropped in the plea bargain,
which was agreed to July 25. I think if you have enough money and the right
lawyer, you can get out of anything, Gebauer said. A 5th District judge and the
Cassia County prosecuting attorney told the Twin Falls Times-News in July that
they received an outpouring of mail and phone calls from residents worried the
prosecutor wouldn't ask for a strict- enough punishment. Prosecuting Attorney Al
Barrus told the Times-News his office negotiated the plea agreement to prevent
the children involved from having to go to trial and face further victimization.
Burley residents said Bowcut was a savvy computer technician who often
volunteered to fix neighbors´s computers. He earned a reputation as a
trustworthy and helpful neighbor, and was often let into people´s homes when he
worked on their computers, Connor´s Cafe owner Karen Fetzer said. Fetzer said
people are outraged by Bowcut´s case, especially since so many of them let him
into their homes when children were around. You can have someone working in your
home and never know what they do, she said. Edition Date: 08-10-2002
ns were indicted last week by U.S. authorities, who said the group sexually
molested and photographed their own children and swapped pictures over the
Internet
