Booking photo for Travis Scott Murray (Courtesy: Cache County Jail)
LOGAN — A 40-year-old Malad City, Idaho man has confessed to sexually extorting a disabled woman in Hyrum. Travis S. Murray accepted a plea deal that allowed him to be temporarily released from the Cache County Jail before being sentenced next month.
Murray participated in a virtual hearing in 1st District Court Tuesday morning, appearing from jail by web conference. He pleaded guilty to sexual extortion and stalking, both third-degree felonies.
In May, the victim called Cache County sheriff’s deputies to report that Murray had been using text messages and Facebook Messenger to harass her. He had been threatening to distribute sexually explicit photos he had of her unless she continued a relationship with him.
The woman provided 417 screenshots of messages that were sent between April and May at all hours of the day and night. The messages were sexual in nature, and contained explicit images she never consented to be taken.
While speaking with investigators, the victim called Murray during a recorded phone call. During the conversation, he apologized for his actions, blaming it on “spiteful rage.”
The woman explained that she met Murray on Facebook about two years ago, after she came out of a coma as a paraplegic with a traumatic brain injury. The two had a prior relationship until Murray was arrested on another case.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Judge Thomas Willmore allowed Murray to be released until sentencing, scheduled for August 25. He ordered him to have no contact with the victim while out of jail.
Murray was also ordered to undergo a presentence report about his criminal history. He could face up to five years in prison.
will@cvradio.com