Man pleads guilty to assaulting girl, 10

A 65-year-old Flathead County man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in 2008.

Brant Griffith agreed to a plea agreement with the Flathead County Attorney’s Office in which prosecutors agreed to dismiss additional charges related to allegations that he also molested an 8-year-old girl last year.

 He pleaded guilty Tuesday in District Court to one felony count of sexual assault in exchange for the dismissal of a charge of sexual intercourse without consent and a second charge of sexual assault connected to the 2010 allegations.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced June 16 by District Judge Ted Lympus and will face a minimum of four years in Montana State Prison and a maximum of 100 years and a $50,000 fine.

Prosecutors will recommend a 20-year sentence with 10 years suspended under the terms of a plea agreement signed Tuesday.

A Flathead County Sheriff’s Office detective began investigating Griffith after the mother of the then 10-year-old girl reported on Aug. 16, 2008, that he had sexual contact with her daughter.

The victim, now 13, said during an Aug. 25, 2008, interview that Griffiths had touched her “in places that she did not like” on multiple occasions. The contact occurred at Griffith’s house, his garage, in a cemetery and in the woods, according to court documents.

She said the abuse occurred once or twice a week and that she tried telling him to stop on several occasions.

The second case, filed by prosecutors in April, 2010, included similar accusations involving an 8-year-old girl.

Griffith is currently being held in the Flathead County Detention Center pending his sentencing.

Reporter Eric Schwartz may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at eschwartz@dailyinterlake.com.