IDAHO FALLS, Idaho — An eastern Idaho man already serving prison time on a sexual abuse conviction has been sentenced to more time after a new victim came forward.
The Post Register reports 57-year-old Thomas Dale Roberts was sentenced Monday to up to 16 years in prison for the two new sex abuse charges. Seventh District Judge Joel Tingey said Roberts would have to serve at least four years before he will be eligible for parole.
In all three cases, Roberts was convicted of sexually abusing children at a daycare. He wasn't an employee of the day care, but lived in the same building as the business.
Roberts would have been eligible for parole this year on the original charge, but the new sentence means he will remain in prison until at least 2023. One of the victims told police she came forward because of the possibility Roberts could be released on parole this year.
Defense attorney John Thomas called the new charges "sour grapes" from prosecutors. But Bonneville County deputy prosecutor John Dewey said Robert falsely claimed there were no other victims during the original case in 2016.
