A Fremont County, Idaho, judge on Friday sentenced former Brigham Young University pitcher Candon Dean Dahle to a minimum of five and a maximum of 10 years in prison for felony injury to a child, then suspended that prison term and placed him on eight years of probation as part of a plea agreement that also called for 180 days in county jail and 200 hours of community service.

The plea deal, announced at sentencing in St. Anthony, included dismissal of similar pending charges in Bingham County and a recommendation that Dahle not be required to register as a sex offender, according to coverage by EastIdahoNews.com. Dahle, 22, was arrested in February in Provo, Utah, where he had pitched for BYU during the 2024 season, and was extradited to Idaho to face the charges.

The charges stemmed from allegations by a teenager who told the court she was abused over a roughly five-year span beginning when she was 7 and continuing until she was 12. In courtroom remarks quoted by EastIdahoNews.com, the 15-year-old said the abuse had left her with sustained psychological harm and pleaded with Judge Steven Boyce to hold Dahle accountable: "Every single day since I was seven, Candon has made me hate myself," she said. "I wake up every morning and have to give myself a reason to stay here."

Family members described the toll the alleged abuse took on the girl, saying they initially believed she was suffering from health problems. The victim's father told the court he had watched his daughter's decline and said she now recoils from physical contact; her mother said she had only recently recognized her daughter's symptoms as trauma. The victim's stepfather testified that Dahle had often pushed personal boundaries and that the family is attending counseling weekly.

Fremont County Prosecutor Lindsey Blake urged the court to impose a harsher probationary term, noting that Dahle had pleaded guilty to two charges. Defense attorney Curtis Smith asked for a three-year probation period and argued that some of the alleged misconduct occurred while Dahle himself was a juvenile; the defense also noted Dahle had submitted to a polygraph test that he passed. Prosecutors said the plea agreement was reached to resolve overlapping cases and to secure a conviction on the charges filed in Fremont County.

Dahle addressed the court and apologized to the victim and her family, saying he was undergoing counseling and was trying to "rectify" his actions. The victim's family members told the court they regretted accepting the plea agreement, saying they feared Dahle would be back in the community in early 2026 when the suspended prison sentence and probation could allow him to resume normal life.

Dahle began his collegiate career at the College of Southern Idaho before transferring to BYU. Both institutions have removed his athlete profile pages from their websites.

The case drew attention locally because the victim said she had frequently been brought to watch Dahle's high school baseball games while the abuse was ongoing. She told the court that she struggled for years to speak up and only came forward reluctantly, a decision her mother described as painful but motivated by a desire to protect others.

Under the terms reported, Dahle will serve the 180-day jail term and perform court-ordered community service while beginning an eight-year period of probation. The plea agreement resolved multiple pending prosecutions in the region and, according to local reporting, includes a recommendation that he not be listed on the state's sex-offender registry.

The sentencing concludes criminal proceedings in Fremont County tied to the allegations heard at this trial. Prosecutors and defense attorneys indicated at the hearing that the agreement was intended to resolve related charges and limit further litigation. The victim and her family said the penalties were insufficient to address the harm they described and urged the court to consider the long-term impact of the abuse.

The judge imposed the agreed-upon sentence in court. Additional civil remedies or other related legal actions were not detailed at sentencing.

This report is based on coverage from local Idaho media and court statements made at the sentencing hearing.