Judge rejects plea deal for mother who had sex with multiple underage boys when they skipped school and filmed their trysts before her husband caught her in a hot tub with one of the teens

A woman's plea deal for having sex with multiple teens while filming her misdeeds has been rejected by a local Idaho judge. 

District Judge Darren Simpson struck down the amended two counts of felon injury charges agreed upon by Amanda Katherine Steele, 34, who was initially charged with three felony counts of child sexual battery committed by lewd conduct. 

Simpson told defense attorney Shane Reichert that such a deal would require evidence that the teenage boys had suffered great bodily harm.  

'I'm not going to accept a plea on some fiction,' Simpson said, the East Idaho News reports. 'I've got some concerns about being able to take a plea unless there is a factual basis for it.'

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District Judge Darren Simpson struck down the amended two counts of felon injury charges agreed upon by Amanda Katherine Steele, 34, who was initially charged with three felony counts of child sexual battery committed by lewd conduct

Steele's attorney argued that the teens could suffer bodily harm while having sexual relations with an adult, making the felony injury to child charges sufficient.  

'I don't understand the issue,' Riechert said. 'I've done it on multiple occasions.'

Steele's binding plea agreement with the Butte County Prosecutor Steve Stephens dropped one of her charges after multiple boys came forward with claims that they had sex with the woman in 2016. 

According to court documents, the teens would skip school and Latter-Day Saint seminary so that they could have sex with Steele. Steel was living in Arco, Idaho, at the time of the escapades. 

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Simpson told defense attorney Shane Reichert that such a deal would require evidence that the teenage boys had suffered great bodily harm

While the victims considered the sexual acts consensual, Steele was charged because under Idaho law, a minor who is 16 and 17 cannot consent to sex with adults five or more years older than them. 

An investigation was launched in late 2017 when Steele's father in law contacted local authorities after hearing rumors that the woman was hanging out with a group of boys. 

The investigation was stalled in spring 2018 when the victims, Steele and others began giving conflicting answers during interviews. 

Steele's ex-husband finally admitted to authorities in July 2019 that Steele told him that she had been having sex with underage boys. He revealed the information following their divorce.  

The man shared that he came home one day to find Steele and one of her victims snuggling in a hot tub. When he tried stopping the activity, the ex-husband shared that the woman would become upset and 'tell him he's being ridiculous.'  

In 2019, one teen admitted to authorities that he had been having sex with Steele while underage. He shared that he used a Go-Pro camera to record one of their sexual encounters but claimed that the computer with the file was destroyed.  

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According to court documents, the teens would skip school and Latter-Day Saint seminary so that they could have sex with Steele

Another hearing has been set for September 30 at 9.30am and Stephens plans to go back to negotiations. 

'I'm not trying to throw a wrench into the negotiations because it sounds like you've worked on it very hard,' Simpson said during the hearing.

The initial plea agreement called for Steele to be given a sentence no longer than a retained jurisdiction or rider program, which would normally last up to a year. It also sought to seek to determine whether Steele was a low risk to re-offend, which would then lead to her being placed on probation with local jail time. 

She would have then served the jail time on weekends, when she did not have custody of her children.  

With a rider program, a person can be sent back to prison after a year of a program designed to treat things like sex abuse.