Sexual assault results in two-year term in prison

The Daily Inter Lake

A man convicted of inappropriately touching a 10-year-old boy was sentenced Thursday in Flathead County District Court to two years in prison.

Timothy Harlan Jensen, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of felony sexual assault in November. Pursuant to a plea agreement, prosecutors dropped a sexual intercourse without consent charge.

He was sentenced to 10 years in prison with eight suspended.

Despite prosecutors' recommendations that all of his prison time be suspended, Judge Stewart E. Stadler ordered Jensen to serve two years in Montana State Prison. He cited the severe repercussions the assault has had on the victim and his family.

Jensen will be eligible for parole after completing a program for sexual offenders. An additional hearing will be held to determine restitution, which the Department of Probation and Parole estimated could be as high as $30,000.

According to court documents, the assault occurred over Labor Day weekend in 2006 while the victim and his family were visiting the Jensens from Chouteau County.

The boy, who prosecutors alleged told Jensen "no" several times during the incident, told his parents Jensen had inappropriately touched him after they returned home. When the boy's parents confronted Jensen about the disclosure, he reportedly replied that he had done "some bad stuff" but did not elaborate.