Sex-crime trial postponed two months June

The trial of David Farr, originally scheduled to begin on Monday, has been delayed until the June 4 jury term.

The former Children's House Montessori administrator is accused of sex crimes against five boys at the Whitefish school.

District Judge Stewart Stadler granted a continuance request from Farr's attorney, Jack Quatman.

In court documents, Quatman said he was not prepared to proceed with the March 26 trial date because of new information that arose from evidentiary hearings in December and January.

Because the children were between ages 2 and 4 when the alleged assaults happened, it raised a question as to whether the children would be competent to testify. The three hearings were held to determine whether their parents can testify in their behalf.

Stadler ruled that parents could use hearsay testimony for four of the children. But he ruled the fifth child was competent to testify himself.

Prosecuting attorneys Dan Guzynski and Lori Adams, both Flathead County deputy attorneys, then asked to allow the fifth child to testify on videotape instead of appearing in court.

Quatman, in his motion filed March 8, said he hired Philip Esplin as an expert witness in child sexual abuse cases who is "uniquely qualified to testify in cases in which Wendy Dutton testifies for the prosecution." Dutton will be a prosecution witness.

Esplin's schedule and the volume of material he must review, Quatman said, meant he cannot be prepared on Monday. Quatman said he could find no other expert.

Quatman also said he hired Stephen Guertin, a forensic pediatric expert from Minnesota, after the evidentiary hearings. He also is not available Monday, Quatman said.

And allowing parents to testify "dramatically changed the nature of the defense in this matter," Quatman claimed. "Twenty-one days is insufficient time to prepare a defense to a 'victimless' prosecution."

Quatman also said that a March 8 story in the Daily Inter Lake said "the judge has determined that the boys are telling the truth … It is tantamount to a 'directed verdict.'" He asked for a change of venue or a later trial to distance jurors from the publicity.

Guzynski filed a response opposing the continuance for the trial.

Noting that "The victims and their families have waited for the day in court for almost a year," and that their memories fade and patience wears thin, Guzynski asked that the trial not be continued again.

Stadler said he granted the continuance, in part, because Quatman had not yet paid for his expert witnesses and would need time to schedule them after they were paid.

He said the videotaped testimony may have to be dealt with in further action because of circumstances unrelated to Quatman's motion.

And he discounted the contention that pretrial publicity tainted a potential jury pool.

The trial is expected to last six days.

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