CALDWELL (Idaho Statesman) — Ryan Bendawald, a former sergeant with the Caldwell Police Department, followed a clear pattern, prosecutors said: He sought vulnerable women involved in drugs, seized those drugs without an arrest, then exploited his position of power.

Over the course of nine days, prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Idaho called more than two dozen witnesses to the James A. McClure Federal Building in Boise, as they worked to convince the jurors of the allegations, that the 43-year-old sexually assaulted two women and collected, or attempted to collect, sexual favors from three others.

Now, a jury must decide whether there’s enough proof to convict him of the five felony charges aganist him.

Bendawald had a 13-year career with the Caldwell Police Department, ris

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