Years of sexual assault alleged against couple
Special to the Inter lake
PLAINS - A Sanders County man and his female partner now face multiple charges after the couple allegedly subjected a 22-year-old woman to years of forced confinement and sexual abuse that began when she was just 6.
Sanders County Attorney Bob Zimmerman filed initial charges against James Douglas Guill and Nicole Christensen, aka Nicole Guill, on Nov. 24. Between them, the Guills face numerous felony charges that include sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent.
Because the initial charges were filed in Justice Court, which can only handle misdemeanors, the Guills could not enter a plea to the charges. Formal charges are slated to be filed in District Court next week. James Guill's preliminary appearance is scheduled for Dec. 7, and Nicole Guill's appearance is scheduled for Dec. 8.
James Guill, 54, faces five felony sex charges and one misdemeanor charge of sexual assault. Nicole Christensen, 36, faces three felony sex charges and one misdemeanor charge.
According to an affidavit, Zimmerman filed for an arrest warrant, the victim got help from her mother to escape Sept. 11 from the home where she had lived with the suspects. In early November, the woman told her story to Sanders County sheriff's deputy Martin Spring and a mental-health counselor. She said she had been molested by James Guill since she was 6 and that the assaults occurred while no one else was present or awake.
Christensen moved into the home at about the same time, according to the document, and within a couple of years, Christensen also began to engage the girl in sexual acts. The assaults allegedly took place nearly every day until the victim was 17, and then once a week or more often until she was 22.
the girl said she was not allowed to leave the house and was indoctrinated with James Guill's "interpretations" of the Bible. Guill allegedly told the victim that "he was God and that he decided who would go to heaven and who would go to hell."
The girl "presents symptoms of being sexually abused and isolated from the outside world," according to the affidavit. According to a mental-health counselor, she is "emotionally delayed across all life domains" and "experiences symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and is clinically depressed."
The felony charges against Guill and Christensen carry possible multiple prison sentences of as long as 100 years each.