Please be aware!!!! NO BURNING IN STEVENS COUNTY

The Sheriff has upgraded the burn ban in Stevens County as of July 18. Please do not burn anything out of doors until the ban is lifted. This includes campfires. Small charcoal or propane grills for food preparation are permitted, but please be careful with them. We have lots of forest land that is tinder dry and with the winds large areas of our county could turn into ashes like the areas to the east that are being devastated by the fires.

On Tuesday, July 15, Wesley Dale Fulton (DOB: 11/18/1966) of Tum Tum was sentenced on Child Molestation and Rape of a Child charges. The charges arouse out of his abuse of child that ended some time ago, but had continued over several years. He faced a sentencing range of up to 61 months in prison and registration as a sex offender for life.

Judge Nielson listen to the victim, who is an adult now, recount tearfully how the years of abuse when she was a child affected her and her family. The defendant had some family that spoke on his behalf and pointed out things that the court should consider. The defense asked the court to sentence the defendant to a Sex Offender Sentencing Alternative, where he would serve a few months in jail and then be released into treatment. This sentencing alternative in commonly sought by sex offenders who have been evaluated and found amenable to treatment. It is a last ditch effort to avoid prison.

Judge Nielson listened carefully to everything presented and noted the recommendation by Community Corrections Officer Travis Hurst for incarceration and the length of the abuse as factors to be considered. The court then rejected the SOSA request and sentenced Mr. Fulton to the maximum of 61 months in prison followed by 36 months on community custody with treatment. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
This case is closed, but the effects of child abuse do not end when the abuser is removed from the community. The victim is often damaged emotionally and feels the effects in their relationships for the rest of their life. The families are affected forever as well. Child abuse is a plague that destroys.