Man pleads innocent to child assault charges

A Flathead County man has pleaded not guilty in District Court to three felony charges of sexual assaults against children.

Adriel “Zack” Wilson, 28, is accused of abusing an 8-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy.

Wilson appeared in District Court Thursday and entered his plea dressed in prison garb. He’s being held at the county jail in lieu of a $150,000 bond.

According to court documents, the alleged crimes involved sexual contact between October 2009 and last month.

Charging documents filed by the Flathead County Attorney’s Office also accuse the man of forcing them to have sexual contact with a dog. Wilson was living at the same home as the children. The alleged abuse began when they were 7 and 8 years old.

The mother reported the alleged sexual contact to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office on Aug. 11 and Wilson subsequently was arrested.

She notified law enforcement after seeing Wilson leave the children’s bedroom. He allegedly told her he was “reading the children a bedtime story,” according to court documents.

The girl told her mother that Wilson had touched her in a sexual manner. When confronted, Wilson admitted the abuse, according to court documents.

An investigation by the Sheriff’s Office revealed that the girl told both of her parents about the abuse previously. The mother and father later told law enforcement they initially didn’t believe the children, according to court documents.

The three charges each carry a maximum penalty of life in prison and a $50,000 fine.

An omnibus hearing is scheduled for Nov. 3 and a trial is expected to begin early next year.