CALDWELL -- The Canyon County Sheriff's Office arrested a homeless man working at a local haunted attraction for sexual battery of a 16-year-old. The alleged incident happened at a Caldwell public park, not at his place of work.
Just after midnight on October 12, police went to Haunted World and took employee 28-year-old Joshua James Stueckle into custody. The owner of Haunted World said detectives contacted him Tuesday to get information on Stueckle, and he told them Stueckle would be at work that evening if they wanted to find him.
No part of the alleged incident took place at the Haunted World in Nampa. That is only the location where Stueckle worked and was taken into custody.
A Canyon County detective interviewed the 16-year-old victim at St. Luke's Children's Hospital in Boise on Tuesday afternoon. She told detectives she and Stueckle had driven to the Caldwell Rotary Ponds on Monday evening, and the two engaged in oral sex while parked in the parking lot. The victim identified Stueckle from his Oregon driver's license photo.
In court documents, the detective who arrested Stueckle explained he went to Haunted World and interviewed Stueckle. The detective says Stueckle admitted having sexual contact with the girl.
Court documents show Caldwell Police were also investigating Stueckle for allegedly having sex with a different Caldwell 16-year-old girl. A separate police affidavit explains Stueckle came to Idaho in July after the two met on a Wiccan, or Pagan witchcraft, website.
The victim in that case and Stueckle were sharing a bedroom at the girl's mother's home. Stueckle also admitted having sex with that girl, and he said the girl's father knew of and gave permission for the two to have a relationship. According to the court document, Stueckle was working at a fair in Caldwell at that time.
Detectives say Stueckle is a registered sex offender out of Oregon. He told detectives he is homeless and has been spending the night at a local park and at different homes.
An owner of The Haunted World said he does not background check employees, but he says he may reconsider hiring practices in the future. He says almost everyone he hires are people he knows personally and have worked there year after year. Stueckle was an exception.
The Haunted World management says they hire Canyon County Sheriff's deputies each weekend for the safety of those at the attraction. He explained he helped detectives with the investigation because "I don't want those people working here or on the streets."
Stueckle is at the Canyon County Jail. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.
