A Hailey man was sentenced to four years of supervised probation on Jan. 23 after accepting a plea deal that reduced his original charge of felony rape to “felony domestic battery resulting in traumatic injury” and dropped another charge of felony battery.
Jose Neptali Alvarenga Canan, 34, was arrested and charged with rape on July 9, 2022, after dispatchers received a 911 text from an out-of-county woman at Canan’s residence. The woman told police that she had been raped in at an apartment in Hailey’s Woodside subdivision, according to a police report filed by Hailey Police Department Assistant Chief Todd Peck.
Peck’s report states that the victim told police that Canan, whom she said was an acquaintance, raped her early that morning and tried again in daylight hours, prompting her to text 911.
Upon arrival, police located Canan and the victim in the apartment, separated both and held interviews in the rear of two police vehicles, Peck wrote.
Canan, however, told police through an interpreter that their sexual interactions were consensual and that the victim had initiated and even “insisted” on the interactions.
In court on Jan. 23, Blaine County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Stacie Summerhill recommended a suspended three-year prison sentence followed by a three-year indeterminate period in custody and four years of supervised probation.
Summerhill argued that Canan was “not accepting any responsibility” for his actions, but noted that there were two “very different” versions of events that transpired between Canan and the victim. She also recommended that Canan undergo sex offender treatment and domestic violence treatment.
Fifth District Judge Ned Williamson upheld Summerhill’s recommendations, agreeing that the victim and Canan had “diametrically opposed” versions of events. He ultimately ordered a three-year prison sentence followed by a three-year indeterminate period in custody, suspending that sentence and placing Canan on four years’ supervised probation.
The judge also ordered that Canan must spend nine months in the Blaine County Jail as a term of his probation. However, Canan already spent 201 days in jail at that point, earning him a 201-day credit for time already served.
He was released on Feb. 3, court records show.
Canan must also pay a $5,000 fine, with $4,000 suspended, and may not contact his victim through 2027. Williamson further ordered him to participate in and complete a 52-week domestic violence intervention program.
According to the Blaine County Sheriff’s Office, Canan was placed on a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement immigration hold upon his arrest last year.
Canan will be deported to Honduras in the coming weeks, Williamson said, adding that Canan will still be considered on probation for the next four years while outside the U.S. Any entry back into the U.S. would constitute an automatic violation of probation, he said.
Canan did not read aloud a statement to the court at sentencing. 
Commented