Via EastIdahoNews.com

PARIS — A lawyer who practices law in Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona and Utah has been charged with solicitation in Bear Lake County.

John Dennis Bowers, 66, is charged with one misdemeanor count of soliciting commercial sexual activity.

Officers with the Montpelier City Police Department received a report from an “online investigator” about a man, later identified as Bowers, who had offered him $300 for a “party” and said he would bring “party supplies,” according to the police affidavit. Bowers allegedly implied he wanted to engage in sexual activity.

The messages were allegedly sent using an alternative dating app called “Sniffles.” Court documents report Sniffles is an anonymous app, but it includes users’ locations.

The “online investigator” is not a licensed investigator, according to court documents. The reporting party uses the “Sniffles” app for personal use and told officers they report the frequent criminal activity they encounter on the app.

The reporting party used the app’s location services to report Bowers’ location to police, according to documents.

Officers reportedly made contact with Bowers on May 1 in Montpelier. Bowers was not detained at this time.

In the following days, documents state the Montpelier Police Department maintained contact with the reporting party before May 21, when they met with investigators from the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigations to obtain a search warrant for Bowers’ electronic devices.

Law enforcement made contact with Bowers near his office to obtain his cell phone, which, according to the documents, he had left there. Officers accompanied Bowers back to the office and spoke with him there.

Documents state Bowers was reminded of his Miranda rights before the conversation. During the conversation, Bowers allegedly told officers that he had been using the Sniffles app to speak with others, but he couldn’t recall the exact conversations he had.

Officers allegedly confronted Bowers with messages such as “I’d pay 300 dollars for a party.” Documents state Bowers responded, “I guess, for the party, I guess I was thinking of…well, first of all, I didn’t even know; I didn’t think the people were real, and I knew they weren’t in Montpelier or anywhere. So, I guess the only reason I said it was to keep the whatever chat going.”

Documents state Bowers told police, “I know what I saw was inappropriate and wrong. But, I really wasn’t soliciting anything…”

Bowers is being represented by attorney Richard Blok of Pocatello. EastIdahoNews.com reached out for comment. “John Bowers is innocent of these frivolous charges. We look forward to proving his innocence in court,” Blok stated.

Bowers is set to have his pre-trial conference on Sept. 9.

Although Bowers has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.