Flathead rapist gets sentenced to prison

After a week of courtroom turnabouts, Jimmie Lee Hogan was sentenced Friday to two years in the Montana State Prison.

Hogan, 27, admitted guilt to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one count of intimidation against Priscilla Ann Wetzel. His admission came in the form of a "no contest" plea.

He was arrested Aug. 11, charged with forcing Wetzel to have sex with him on the drive to her Kalispell apartment, after her car broke down late at night and she flagged down his vehicle along the side of the road.

Wetzel died March 18 at a Spokane hotel as she and friends celebrated St. Patrick's Day. Autopsy results, other than cause and manner of death, are confidential under Washington law. The medical examiner's office in Spokane said results were expected to take from eight to 12 weeks. In the first week of April, those results still were unavailable.

On March 29, Hogan, through his attorney, Vickie Frazier, filed a motion with District Judge Ted Lympus to withdraw his guilty plea.

Deputy County Attorney Dan Guzynski objected, noting there was no brief supporting the motion that would explain the rationale. He claimed Hogan was trying to profit from Wetzel's death. Frazier disagreed, saying the basis lay in discrepancies in earlier court testimony.

Frazier pledged to have a brief filed by the next Wednesday, April 11. Guzynski said that brief was not filed.

Late on Thursday afternoon, Frazier asked to withdraw the motion to change Hogan's plea, and to proceed immediately to sentencing.

Lympus agreed, and set a court date for 9 a.m. Friday.

Hogan's wife, Nikki Barton, testified on behalf of her husband. Wetzel's mother, Mandy Rush, testified on behalf of her daughter.

Guzynski said Wetzel, before her death, had agreed to the sentencing recommendation. Hogan's sentencing initially had been scheduled for Feb. 8, but was continued a number of times to allow for a pre-sentence investigation.

Hogan received 10 years at the prison in Deer Lodge, with eight suspended. He will serve the full two years without possibility of parole.

In addition, he must undergo a sex-offender treatment program. He also must register as a sex offender after he is released.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com