A Boise woman was sexually assaulted 4 years ago. The suspect will go to prison soon
It was 2018 when a Salt Lake City man allegedly sexually assaulted an Idaho woman while she was jogging her typical route.
The 31-year-old has now entered a plea to multiple felonies related to the battery.
Nicholas Campbell entered an Alford plea Friday to three felonies: battery with the intent to commit a serious felony and two enhancements, infliction of great bodily injury and destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence, according to a release from the Ada County Sheriff’s Office and court records.
An Alford plea carries the weight of a guilty plea but means Campbell isn’t admitting to the crime, only that the evidence exists to convict him.
In 2018, Campbell sexually assaulted the woman, who at the time lived in the same neighborhood. He was arrested in 2021 in Utah.
Campbell’s plea was part of an agreement with the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office. In exchange, prosecutors agreed dropped one of the initial felony charges against Campbell — a persistent violator charge, the sheriff’s office said.
Prosecutors are expected to ask the judge to sentence Campbell to 45 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years, the release said.
The Ada County Sheriff’s Office said in the release that “a combination of comprehensive detective work and development of DNA evidence” allowed them to arrest Campbell in 2021. He has been in custody at the Ada County Jail on a $1 million bond since April 2021, according to online jail records.
He is expected to be sentenced on Jan. 6, the news release said.
What happened?
On Nov. 30, 2018, the woman was jogging on West Brogan Drive between South Seabreeze Way and South Elinor Rose Avenue when Campbell attacked her from behind, the sheriff’s office said.
Campbell grabbed the woman around her neck, knocked her to the ground and then choked her until she lost consciousness, according to a previous release from the sheriff’s office. He then sexually assaulted her, the release said.
The woman wasn’t able to get a good look at Campbell’s face but was able to provide a description of his clothing. Investigators were able to collect DNA evidence from the attack, which matched Campbell’s, the sheriff’s office previously said.
Authorities have said in other news releases that Campbell had a “violent sexual history with women.”
