'Snuggle time' with five year olds lands man 15 to life sentence

May 23, 2023

Jason Lee Williams

By Mike Weland

A Bonners Ferry man who, for a period of about six years beginning when she was five years old, took his granddaughter to his basement room for "snuggle time" when dropped off for visits and did even worse with another juvenile female relative, has been sentenced to 15-years to life in prison.

According to court documents, the mother of one of the victims, who lives in Caldwell, called the Boundary County Sheriff's Office on the evening of July 24, 2022, after her daughter told her of the abuse for the first time, and then only after the other victim, who lives in Boundary County, came forward.

"Starting at five years old (late 2011) ... Jason started taking (child) to the basement of his home for 'snuggle time,'" the affidavit of probable cause reads. "The basement was a closed in room that held a bed and a TV ... These 'snuggle time' occurrences happened for the next six years, almost every time (child) would visit Jason ... around 11 years of age (child) gained courage to say no to Jason, and did so from then on. Jason would attempt to get close to her, but (she) would push him away."

For her abuse, Jason Lee Williams, 66, Fleming Creek Road, Bonners Ferry, who pled guilty, was charged with sexual abuse of a child under 16, a felony amended to sexual battery, a misdemeanor.

He also pled guilty to lewd conduct with a minor under 16, a felony, for abusing the other child, a distant relative who grew up here and has known Williams all her life.

The sexual abuse, she told investigators, who contacted her family after the initial call from Caldwell, started before she began primary school and continued until she "was 'around 13' when she finally told Jason what he was doing was wrong," after which he stopped sexually abusing her.

"(Child) has not spoken to anyone of the events for over seven years," the affidavit reads. "A couple of weeks ago, (child) posted on TikTok ... The TikTok ended with '... I still see that person a lot, no one around me knows ... cuz I haven't told anyone around me ... I'm afraid of what would change if I did say."

Her mother read the TikTok and her daughter told her of the years of abuse. Recognizing that William's granddaughter was the only other female relative of that age around Williams through those years, her mother called Caldwell.

Judge Lamont C. Berecz sentenced Williams to 15 years determinate to life in prison on the felony charge, and one year in jail on the misdemeanor sexual battery charge, both sentences to run concurrently. He was credited for 143 days served, ordered to pay $760 costs and, if he is released, must register as a sex offender.