Whitefish man pleads guilty to 2005 kidnapping

The Daily Inter Lake

A Whitefish man pleaded guilty Thursday to kidnapping and sexual assault.

Roger Street, 64, faces as many as 110 years in prison for the July 6, 2005, incident.

Street reportedly went to the Whitefish Police Department to report a missing 19-year-old woman. His story aroused officers' suspicions.

The search-and-rescue leader was notified, and detectives began questioning Street closely.

The woman was found on Good Creek Road.

She told authorities that Street had tied her up and assaulted her in the woods after they drove there together.

She said she escaped by persuading Street to untie her so she could go to the bathroom and then distracted him by asking for a cigarette before she fled into the woods.

She hid when Street went looking for her and walked between 12 and 18 miles for help, she said.

She reportedly was uninjured except for Street's sexual assault upon her.

Street was scheduled to go to trial in the matter but changed his plea Thursday, matter-of-factly admitting his guilt. He acknowledged that he touched the woman and caused her pain, and threatened to use physical force on her.

District Judge Ted Lympus set sentencing for June 8. He ordered a presentence investigation into Street's history.