A 27-year-old Nampa man was sentenced Tuesday for having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl – and getting her pregnant.
Canyon County Prosecutor Bryan Taylor said David M. Arquette was sentenced on the charge of felony lewd conduct with a child under sixteen.
Judge Davis Vandervelde sentenced Arquette to seven years fixed, followed by thirteen years indeterminate, for a total unified sentence of twenty years in prison. The judge also ordered Arquette to register as a sex offender, submit a DNA sample to the Idaho Database, and have no contact with the victim -- or any females under the age of 18 -- for the duration of the sentence. Arquette was also ordered to pay a $5,000 civil penalty, as well as court costs and reimbursement for his public defender and psycho-sexual evaluation, according to Canyon County spokesman Joe Decker.
Arquette was arrested in January following an investigation by the Nampa Police Department which revealed he had been having an inappropriate sexual relationship with a 13-year-old girl. According to police, Arquette proposed to the young girl after only knowing her a couple of weeks -- so they could begin having sex. A short time later, the girl became pregnant with Arquette’s baby, Decker said. Arquette then made the victim tell his family and friends that she was nineteen years old, even though he knew she was underage. Court records also show that Arquette “feels like he is still in a relationship with the victim and plans to resume seeing her as soon as it becomes legal,” Decker stated.
During sentencing, Judge Vandervelde told Arquette, “I don’t think you recognize the gravity of the harm you caused. There’s a 14-year-old with a young child which will impact her life and the families who are associated. The damage is irreparable.”
“This is an absolutely horrifying case of a grown man knowingly impregnating a 13-year-old girl,” Taylor said. “I’m thankful (Arquette’s) behind bars where he can no longer pose a danger to our society.”
