‘Learn how to be a man’: Young man in sexual relationship with teen sentenced to probation

IDAHO FALLS — A local man who was arrested for allegedly raping a 16-year-old has been sentenced to eight years of probation.

Kooper James Anderson was initially charged with rape of a victim who is 16 to 17 years old, but he accepted a plea agreement where he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of felony injury of a child.

He was sentenced Wednesday before the Senior District Judge Jon Shindurling.

‘Selfish actions’

The teenage victim and a relative spoke during Wednesday’s hearing. The relative told the court since he discovered the relationship between Anderson and the victim, Anderson has lied to the family and attempted to protect himself from avoiding any consequences.

“As a family, we do forgive Kooper, but we also believe that he must face whatever consequences are due to him by this court of law,” he said. “Only then can we hope that he understands the severity and gravity of his selfish actions.”

The victim also gave a statement telling the court how Anderson had manipulated and taken advantage of her due to her age.

Investigation into Anderson

According to court documents, a detective with Idaho Falls Police started the investigation after the victim had reported the rape, after a relative of the victim found Anderson hiding in the victim’s closet on Jan. 7, 2024.

RELATED | Idaho Falls man arrested for alleged statutory rape of 16-year-old

Police searched the victim’s phone, finding messages between the victim and Anderson that showed them to be in a relationship. He had asked her to tell others his name was Corbin to protect himself and to delete all of their texts.

When interviewed, Anderson admitted to being in a sexual relationship with the victim, and when his phone was searched, police found evidence of a sexual relationship.

‘Become a better man’

Anderson’s defense attorney, Kelly Mallard, responded to victim impact statements, telling the court that in these cases, given the age difference and consent, it’s hard for him to find them as victims.

“If Mr. Kooper had been 30 days younger, this wouldn’t even have been a crime. He would have fit within that three-year window on this rape statute,” Mallard said.

According to Mallard, Anderson had cooperated with law enforcement from the start, and according to the pre-sentence investigation report, it recommended Anderson serve probation and complete sex offender treatment.

However, Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Lou Harris said while Anderson did cooperate, the report stated Anderson attempted to explain his actions as a mistake, and it should be recognized as such.

Even with the charge being pleaded down, Harris reminded the court the state can ask for the maximum charge of 20 years as it’s still a serious offense given the impact to the victim. For this, a sentence of 10 years with two years fixed and eight indeterminate was recommended.

“I believe that Mr. Kooper needs to understand the seriousness of his actions,” Harris said.

Anderson had the chance to give a statement in which he apologized for his actions to the victim’s family.

Shindurling told Anderson that part of his job is to protect society while also ensuring that the man is deterred from this action again. To do this, Shindurling said he must know if this is a predatory issue, but according to the report, Anderson does not show any signs of this.

Anderson was sentenced to three years fixed and eight years indeterminate, but Shindurling suspended his prison sentence.

Instead, Anderson was given eight years of probation with the condition of completing 100 hours of community service, being employed full-time, completing sex offender treatment, and being given 180 days of discretionary jail time, meaning his probation officer could impose that term if warranted.

“My choice here is to take a chance that you can learn from this and become a better man and relate to women differently,” Shindurling said. “I will be disappointed in a lot of ways, if you need to be in jail for it, if you don’t make those changes. Learn how to be a man.”

Due to the charge, Anderson will not be required to register as a sex offender.

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