Judge rules in the Appleton rape case

Former WSU professor Andrew Appleton received a prison sentence Monday after he had sexual relations with a teenage relative for more than a year.

Appleton, 52, a Moscow resident, is expected to spend between one and five years in prison.

The relative who accused him of sexual assault, an 18-year-old girl, told the Latah County District Court Appleton began touching her inappropriately when she was 16 years old and coerced her into a sexual relationship.

Criminals in Idaho usually receive a mandatory minimum sentence after which they are eligible for parole.

“But the judge did something different,” said Michelle Evans, senior deputy attorney for the Latah County Prosecutor’s Office.

Evans said the judge who sentenced Appleton retained jurisdiction of this case.

Appleton will undergo approximately four to six months of programming, after which the Idaho Department of Correction will recommend further action to the judge, Evans said.

Appleton was a professor of political science at WSU’s School of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs. The school removed him from the position after his arrest in September 2012.