Man files $10M tort claim over N. Idaho rape case

SANDPOINT, Idaho (AP) — A former northern Idaho man is seeking at least $10 million in damages from authorities in Bonner County, where statutory rape allegations filed against him were dismissed earlier this month.

The Bonner County Daily Bee reports 50-year-old Gary Dean Blankenship Jr. claims he was maliciously prosecuted and his reputation irreparably harmed during the case. He also says his constitutional rights were violated.

A judge dismissed the rape allegations against Blankenship because the statute of limitations had long expired. In a tort claims filed last Monday, five days after the judge's ruling, Blankenship seeks damages from Bonner County and the Sandpoint Police Department.

A tort claim is a precursor to a lawsuit.

Blankenship formerly lived in Sandpoint but now resides in Washington state.

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Information from: Bonner County (Idaho) Daily Bee