37-year-old who portrayed himself to be 15 pleads guilty to lewd conduct with Twin Falls minor

TWIN FALLS, Idaho – A 37-year-old man who last year, according to court records, tried to pass himself off as 15 years old and had sex with a 13-year-old girl will likely spend the next 20 years in custody.

Miguel Frank Stroud, of Klamath County, Oregon, on Monday entered guilty pleas on three counts of lewd conduct with a minor under 16 years old and three counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

It comes as part of a plea deal in which the court has agreed to impose a 20-year fixed sentence with 10 years indeterminate for lewd conduct and a sentence of 10 years fixed for sexual exploitation of a child, relating to him possessing videos showing minors engaged in sex acts.

The charges will run concurrently.

Stroud, who is being held on $500,000 bond, will be formally sentenced on Oct. 7, and Deputy Prosecutor Jethelyn Harrington said the proceedings could take an hour.

“I think the victim and her family would like to speak,” Harrington said.

In addition to time behind bars, Stroud has agreed to pay restitution to the victim, she said.

According to court records, Stroud met the 13-year-old Twin Falls girl online and portrayed himself to be 15 years old, stayed at her residence for two days, although the girl and other members of the household suspected he was older.

Records say he eventually showed his driver’s license to the girl’s sister, and she called police and Stroud left the house.

He was picked up the next day after a pursuit with Lincoln County deputies that reached speeds of up to 125 mph, court records say.

Stroud, who court records said had a handgun, was observed by a deputy driving slowly and repeatedly crossing a solid yellow line in Shoshone.

During an attempt to conduct a traffic stop, Stroud drove away, and his vehicle hit the deputy in the leg, records say. The deputy was not seriously injured.

A pursuit began with speeds reaching between 106 and 125 mph, mostly on U.S. Highway 26. Speeds were still at 90 mph through Richfield.

He eventually stopped north of Carey in Blaine County, records say.

“I just freaked out when you asked me to step out and there is a gun on the front seat,” court records say he told the deputy.

Stroud is scheduled to be sentenced for eluding police officers and aggravated battery on Friday .