POCATELLO — A 42-year-old local man was arrested Wednesday after police say he sexually abused multiple children over a period spanning nearly a decade.

Jesse William Burrell, of Pocatello, was charged Thursday with three counts of lewd conduct with a minor under 16, one count of sexual abuse of a child under 16 and two counts of sexual battery of a minor child, all felonies, according to a criminal complaint filed in 6th District Court obtained by the Journal Thursday afternoon.

The three lewd conduct charges allege Burrell molested a child between the ages of 4 and 10 between June 2013 and June 2019, court records state.

The sexual abuse charge alleges Burrell had sexual contact with a child who was 10 or 11 years old sometime in 2022, police said.

The two sexual battery charges allege Burrell had lewd and lascivious contact and other sexual contact with a 16-year-old between September and December 2022 while Burrell was more than five years older than the victim at the time, court records state.

The allegations span nearly a decade and multiple locations, including residences in Pocatello and McCammon and inside a vehicle when one child was with Burrell as the two embarked on a fishing trip, according to court records. The children involved ranged in age from as young as 4 to 16 years old at the time of the alleged abuse, court records state.

According to a Pocatello police report contained within a probable cause affidavit, the investigation drew on four separate cases that, taken together, allege a pattern of abuse against multiple children within Burrell's household and children of families with whom he had close relationships.

One child disclosed during a forensic interview that Burrell abused her for several years beginning around kindergarten, the affidavit states.

The child told investigators the abuse escalated over time and included an incident in a vehicle in which Burrell repeatedly disregarded her objections, according to the police report.

A second child disclosed inappropriate touching by Burrell, with police alleging the abuse occurred at a residence and an Airbnb property Burrell owned, court records show.

A third child told a forensic interviewer in May that Burrell touched her upper inner thigh while she sat on his lap watching television, and that roughly a year later he leaned in to try to kiss her while they watched a movie together, prompting her to push him away and flee the room, according to police.

A fourth victim told investigators in a recorded interview that Burrell, who she said was visibly intoxicated, moved his hand up her leg, reached under her underwear and touched her inappropriately for about a minute before a family member entered the home and interrupted him, according to the report. She also described a separate incident during a movie in which Burrell put his arm around her and placed his hand on her leg, police said.

A Pocatello police detective interviewed Burrell on Wednesday, where he admitted to heavy, chronic alcohol use and acknowledged experiencing blackouts, but said he could not recall parts of the alleged conduct, court records state.

When confronted with the consistency of the disclosures against him, Burrell told investigators the alleged abuse was "more likely than not" to have occurred, officers said.

Burrell was arrested at a residence on North Seventh Avenue around 3 p.m. Wednesday and booked into the Bannock County Jail in Pocatello, police records show.

Burrell is set to appear before 6th District Magistrate Judge Todd R. Garbett Thursday afternoon for an arraignment hearing via video conference from the Bannock County Jail, during which prosecutors will request his bond be set at $250,000.

He is scheduled to appear in court again Aug. 31 in front of 6th District Magistrate Judge Scott E. Axline for a preliminary hearing, where prosecutors will attempt to present sufficient evidence to elevate the case from magistrate to district court for trial.

Each of the three lewd conduct charges and the lewd and lascivious sexual battery charge Burrell faces carry a maximum penalty of up to life in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 if he is convicted.

The sexual battery of a child and sexual abuse of a child under 16 charges each carry a maximum penalty of up to 25 years in prison and a fine of up to $50,000 if he is convicted.