Finley man, 85, convicted of five sex crimes involving young girl

Eugene Lester Standfill, 85, of Finley, was taken into custody Tuesday after a jury convicted him of five sex crimes that will send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Standfill was convicted on one count each of first- and third-degree child molestation, second-degree rape of a child, first-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and sexual exploitation of a minor.

He was accused of molesting and raping a young girl and taking pictures of her naked for at least a decade.

The Benton County Superior Court jury was unable to reach a verdict on a sixth count, for first-degree rape of a child.

Deputy Prosecutor Anita Petra will talk it over with the victim’s family, but does not intend to retry Standfill on that one count because of his advanced age, she said.

“Given how many guilty verdicts were returned, the defendant is looking at significant time in prison,” Petra said. “To have this child go through another trial would be a very difficult thing to do.”

On one occasion, Standfill gave the girl $20 so he could grope her. She revealed the ongoing sexual assault to a friend in late 2014, and law enforcement was immediately notified.

“I’m just happy that we were able to give her some closure, and now she can move on with repairing her life,” Petra said.

Standfill had been out of custody since posting $50,000 bail in December 2014. Sentencing tentatively is set for April 7.

This story was originally published February 16, 2016 at 7:24 PM with the headline "Finley man, 85, convicted of five sex crimes involving young girl."