POCATELLO — A local man facing multiple life sentences in prison who allegedly raped and molested numerous teenage girls since 2007 was released from jail Thursday after posting bond, according to court records the Idaho State Journal obtained Friday.
Trenton Jared Powell, 41, of Pocatello, has been charged with five counts of statutory rape where the victim is age 16 or 17 and the perpetrator is three or more years older and two counts of lewd conduct with a child under 16, all felonies, court records say. The allegations against Powell occurred between 2007 and 2014, police said.
Powell, after being arrested on Thursday, appeared in front of 6th District Judge R. Todd Garbett for an arraignment hearing, during which Powell’s bond was set at $50,000, significantly less than the $300,000 bond Bannock County Prosecutors had requested. Powell posted the $50,000 bond on Thursday and was released from the Bannock County Jail.
The criminal allegations against Powell stem from an eight-month Pocatello Police Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security investigation that uncovered alleged incidents in Pocatello, Bear Lake County and Salt Lake City involving Powell and at least five underage girls, court records say.
Additionally, police reports say multiple victims told police that Powell recorded the sex crimes with his cellphone and showed pictures and videos of the incidents to them afterward, manipulated his victims into signing fake marriage certificates and possibly mixed drugs into alcoholic beverages before providing them to the girls, with the desired effect of “giving them a little push,” one witness told police.
Though the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office obtained enough evidence to criminally charge Powell with the seven felony sex crimes, prosecutors believe there are likely other victims who have not yet been contacted and encouraged them to call the Pocatello Police Department at 208-234-6100.
Much of the alleged abuse of the girls occurred at Powell’s home on the 1000 block of City Creek Road in Pocatello, police said. Police first learned of Powell’s alleged conduct in April after the mother of one of the victims called police to report that her now-adult daughter had recently disclosed abuse from Powell that started when she was 13 and continued until she was 18, police said. Police set up an interview with the now-adult woman.
During the interview, the woman said Powell raped and molested her at age 13 in an RV camper while camping at Bear Lake, police said. Powell then manipulated the girl into believing they were in a romantic relationship and that he was in love with her, police said. Powell continued raping the girl at his City Creek home until she was 16 years old, placed on probation and prohibited from visiting him, according to police reports.
Powell convinced the girl a year later to move to Salt Lake City with him, where he continued abusing the girl until she moved out at age 18, police said. Prior to her leaving, the girl told police she remembered signing a fake marriage license at one point, police said.
Another victim told police that when she was 16 years old in 2013, Powell raped her after she consumed two mixed drinks at his home, which caused her to become sick and confused, police said. A few weeks later, the girl went to lunch with Powell and he raped her again, police said. Despite repeated attempts via Snapchat messages from Powell to the girl asking her to visit him after this second incident, the girl refused to visit Powell again, police said.
The youngest victim to report abuse from Powell was 11 years old in 2007. She told police that Powell raped her while she was sleeping, police said. The girl awoke to the abuse but pretended to be asleep “as she did not want what was happening to her to continue,” police said.
The girl told police that Powell would rape or molest her approximately three to four times per week for several years, using grooming behavior and buying her lingerie as a means to control her, police said. This victim also told police that Powell had her sign a marriage license and that the abuse from Powell lasted until 2012 when she was 17 and her then-17-year-old boyfriend got into a fist fight with Powell, police said.
A fourth victim told police that when she was 16 years old in October 2014, she and another friend were raped by Powell and forced to perform sexual acts on one another, police said. Powell would later show the two girls a video he made of him raping them, police said.
One witness who was friends with Powell’s current adult girlfriend told police that she had concerns that drinks were being drugged at parties at Powell’s residence. The woman told police that Powell was the only person allowed to make mixed drinks during the parties and that Powell had made mention of drugging people by saying he needed to “give them a little push,” police said.
Additionally, one witness provided police with text messages she received from Powell in July in regards to the allegations against him, police said. The text read, “You are being manipulated and controlled by the people that are lying and cheating in an effort to destroy my life.” The message from Powell also said, “I have an attorney that can represent you and get you out of their web. It doesn’t matter what you’ve said or done, he can undo it.”
Pocatello police indicated in their reports that Powell retained Pocatello attorney Patrick Davis in May and that Davis informed them Powell would not be making a statement. Davis told the Journal on Friday that immediately upon his hiring he contacted the police and committed to bringing Powell in for an interview if and when a charging decision had been made, and that he never heard from detectives again.
Davis also said Powell is anxious to defend himself from the allegations levied against him.
“Powell has been looking forward to his day in court for a long time,” Davis said.
The seven felony sex crimes against Powell were filed on Nov. 18 and sealed via judicial order that same day. An arrest warrant for Powell was also issued. Powell was arrested on Thursday, though police did not include any information about Powell’s arrest in the police reports the Journal obtained.
The Journal petitioned to unseal certain aspects of Powell’s case on Thursday, which Judge Garbett approved later that same day.
Powell is due back in court on Dec. 17 for a hearing in which prosecutors will attempt to prove there is enough evidence against him to send his case to trial.
All five of the felony charges of statutory rape where the victim is age 16 or 17 and the perpetrator is three or more years older carry prison sentences of at least one year and up to life in person and up to $50,000 in fines if Powell is convicted.
The two felony lewd conduct charges carry penalties of up to life in prison and up to $50,000 if Powell is convicted.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Powell was accused of raping or molesting seven teenage girls.