Idaho man sentenced to 39 years for sexually abusing girl in Sacramento area
An Idaho man who admitted sexually abusing a young girl for years in a Sacramento suburb was sentenced to more than 39 years in prison after a jury convicted him on nearly two dozen felony charges.
Bobbie Arthur Owen, 64, who lived in Meridian — about 5 miles west of Boise — since 2008, received the sentence earlier this month from Sacramento Superior Court Judge Deborah Lobre. A Sacramento jury found him guilty in March of 22 felony counts, including lewd acts on a child, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office.
For several years, Owen regularly molested the girl starting when she was 11 years old, the DA’s office said in a news release. That sexual abuse continued until she turned 18, with gaps in time when it stopped, including when Owen moved out of state for work, according to California court records. The incidents included penetration with a foreign object, oral sex and attempted sexual intercourse, the DA’s office said.
Owen had lived in Meridian since 2008, according to public records reviewed by the Idaho Statesman.
Before that, Owen lived in Sacramento for a handful of years after nearly two decades in Oregon into the early 2000s. Owen was known around Springfield and Eugene, Oregon, for performing as Boo Boo the Clown, The Register-Guard newspaper reported. Owen did so until at least 2002 and more recently worked in the Boise area as a long-haul truck driver, according to his LinkedIn page.
In August 2024, the victim, now an adult, went to Citrus Heights police with her allegations. She estimated that Owen’s total incidents of sexual contact numbered in the hundreds during her childhood.
Owen was confronted with the victim’s allegations in Idaho by a Citrus Heights detective in November 2024, according to court records. At that time, Owen admitted during an interview with the detective to having molested the girl for years and recounted more recent phone conversations he had with her about his past sexual abuse of her.
Boise police arrested Owen immediately afterward on a fugitive warrant, Idaho court records showed. He was extradited to Sacramento County in February 2025 to face the charges.
Following a three-day trial in March, the Sacramento jury convicted Owen on 22 felony counts. Lobre imposed the maximum sentence.
The Bee’s Daniel Hunt contributed to this story.
This story was originally published May 27, 2026 at 11:38 AM.
