POCATELLO — A Bannock County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been charged with sex crimes after authorities say he sexually abused a 16-year-old girl in December 2023.
Trevor Aaron Ranere, 26, of Pocatello, has been charged with two counts of felony sexual battery of a minor child following a Tri-County Sheriff’s Association investigation led by the sheriff’s offices in Bingham and Jefferson counties.
The Idaho State Journal on Wednesday obtained a copy of the affidavit of probable cause report that a Bingham County sheriff’s deputy prepared outlining the basis of the charges against Ranere.
Bannock County Sheriff Tony Manu held a press conference Wednesday morning explaining that his office received information on Feb. 28, 2024, about Ranere’s alleged misconduct.
Based on the seriousness of the allegations, Ranere was immediately placed on administrative leave, Manu said, adding that Ranere’s service weapon, sheriff’s badge and all sheriff’s office property were confiscated. Ranere’s access to the sheriff’s office was also suspended, Manu said.
An internal investigation into Ranere’s conduct was then initiated, according to a Bannock County news release. The Pocatello Police Department was asked to lead the investigation with the assistance of a liaison detective from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, the news release said.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, the 16-year-old girl and her mother reported an alleged sex offense involving Ranere to another Bannock County Sheriff’s Office deputy on Feb. 28.
The victim told authorities that while working at a local assisted living facility she called the sheriff’s office to report a potential prowler in the vicinity, the probable cause document states.
Ranere was the deputy who responded to the call and upon arrival made contact with the victim.
Ranere started asking the victim “weird questions about her boyfriend, sexual activity and illegal actions she has committed,” according to the probable cause affidavit.
After completing the call for service, Ranere invited the 16-year-old girl for a “ride-along” in his Bannock County Sheriff’s Office vehicle, the affidavit said.
While inside his patrol vehicle, Ranere hit multiple buttons and covered the dash lights with a piece of paper before telling the victim that he was turning off the cameras and that nothing in the vehicle would be recorded except for the audio, which would automatically delete after three days, the affidavit said.
Ranere then allegedly tried to kiss the victim. He also grabbed the victim’s upper thigh through a hole in her jeans and suggested the two become friends on Snapchat, the affidavit states.
The victim said that Ranere then took her phone and added himself to her friends list on Snapchat, according to the affidavit.
On Dec. 20, 2023, Ranere contacted the victim through Snapchat and asked her to meet him at the Walmart parking lot in Chubbuck, the affidavit states. The victim initially tried to tell Ranere that she would not meet him but he threatened to tell her parents about the “illegal stuff” that she and her friends have done, the affidavit said.
The victim then met Ranere at the Walmart parking lot, entered his personal pickup truck, and he drove them to an unknown location where he tried to initiate a sexual act with her, the affidavit said. The victim reportedly told Ranere to stop and that she needed to go home.
On March 5, 2024, the victim participated in a forensic interview at a local child advocacy center, during which she again disclosed the alleged abuse by Ranere.
The victim provided further details about the questions that Ranere had asked her at the assisted living facility, which included what type of sexual activity she had been involved in, the affidavit said.
After asking her about her boyfriend, Ranere told the victim that “teenage boys don’t know how to treat girls right” and that she was “mature for her age (both) mentally and physically,” the affidavit said.
While the victim was providing Ranere with a statement about the prowler, the two commented about being approximately a decade apart in age, according to the affidavit.
The victim also told the forensic interviewer that Ranere kissed and touched her inappropriately while inside his personal pickup truck and attempted to initiate a sexual act, behaviors that scared her, the affidavit said. Eventually, Ranere dropped the victim back off at her car at Walmart and she returned home.
While communicating on Snapchat, Ranere told the victim not to tell anyone about their conversations as he could get in trouble, according to the affidavit.
On March 29 of this year, Ranere, through his Boise-based attorney Matt Lovell, provided the Tri-County Sheriff’s Association investigators with a statement, the probable cause affidavit said.
In the statement, Ranere confirmed he responded to the prowler call at the assisted living facility and that he assumed the victim was an adult because she identified herself as a nurse at the facility.
Additionally, Ranere in his statement said the victim asked to talk to him further after completing the call for service so he met her in the parking lot of a local church. Ranere’s statement said he received a notification that he and the victim became friends on Snapchat. He also said the victim kept asking for a “ride-along” with him for about a week after he responded to the call at the assisted living facility.
Ranere in his statement said it was the victim who contacted him to say that she wanted to meet him and that he agreed to meet her while he ate his dinner.
After driving through the area around Walmart, Panda Express and the Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck, Ranere said in his statement that he dropped the victim off at her car and had to ask her several times to exit his personal pickup truck.
The statement from Ranere also said that he felt as if the victim was attempting to have an inappropriate relationship with him. Ranere denied ever having any physical contact with the victim in his statement.
Ranere said in his statement that these allegations were being raised by the victim in an attempt to ruin his life and career or in an attempt to exploit money from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators obtained surveillance footage from Walmart that showed both Ranere’s personal pickup truck and the car belonging to the victim traveling in and out of the parking lot between 8 p.m. on Dec. 20 and 12:30 a.m. on Dec. 21, the affidavit said.
The investigators also obtained a warrant with Snapchat that showed that Ranere added the victim to his Snapchat at around 12:29 a.m. on Dec. 20, according to the affidavit.
Manu on Wednesday told the Journal that Ranere remains on administrative leave.
Ranere was not arrested in connection to the charges but was instead issued a felony summons to appear in court. His initial appearance is set for 1:15 p.m. on July 10 in front of a magistrate judge in Bingham County.
The Bingham County Prosecutor’s Office has been appointed as special prosecutor for the case because it would be a conflict of interest for Bannock County prosecutors to handle a case involving a Bannock County sheriff’s deputy.
Ranere was hired by the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office in October 2017 as a detention deputy and was a patrol deputy at the time of the allegations, according to the Bannock County news release.
“As sheriff, I was very upset when we learned of these allegations and we took every action we could immediately,” Manu said Wednesday. “That included putting (Ranere) on leave and seeking outside, independent investigators to handle this matter. We should not lose focus on the bravery of the young woman who came forward. It is not easy to report a crime of this nature, especially against a person in a position of authority. Her actions are commendable. This is a sad day for me, as sheriff, and for the men and women of this office who serve this community with dedication and honor every day. This incident should not reflect on them and their good work.”
If convicted of the two felony crimes filed against him, Ranere faces up to 50 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.
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