Man convicted of sex assault dies in prison

By NICHOLAS LEDDEN/The Daily Inter Lake

A Whitefish man serving a 20-year prison sentence for kidnapping and sexual assault died early Saturday at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge.

Roger Street, 67, was found by his cell mate at approximately 2 a.m., prison spokeswoman Linda Moodry said. Medical personnel responded and Street was pronounced dead at 3:08 a.m.

"Mr. Street's death was unexpected and an autopsy will be performed," Moodry said. "No foul play was suspected."

Street was sentenced in September 2006 to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old woman. He also was ordered to serve a concurrent five-year sentence for kidnapping.

At the sentencing hearing, defense attorneys asked District Judge Ted Lympus to consider Street's failing health.

But prosecutors argued that Street shouldn't get "a free ticket" because of a bad heart.

It is not yet known if heart problems caused or contributed to Street's death.

According to investigators, Street approached Whitefish police at about 8 p.m. on July 6, 2005, to report a missing woman. Street said the woman was in the Good Creek area west of Whitefish.

Police were suspicious of Street's story, and the Flathead County search and rescue team was notified.

At about 11:30 p.m., the missing woman was found on Good Creek Road.

She said she had walked 12 to 18 miles from where she had escaped from Street.

Earlier in the day, the two had driven a pickup with a camper into the woods, where Street tied her up and sexually assaulted her.

She managed to get away by persuading Street to untie her so she could go to the bathroom, and then distracting him by asking for a cigarette before she fled into the woods.

The woman hid in the woods when Street went looking for her.

In exchange for Street's guilty plea, prosecutors reduced an original rape charge to sexual assault.

At the time of his death, Street had served more than 16 months of his prison sentence, in addition to spending more than a year in the Flathead County Detention Center. He would have been eligible for parole in 2010.

Reporter Nicholas Ledden can be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at nledden@dailyinterlake.com