Man, 63, sentenced for sexual assault

A 63-year-old Flathead County man who sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl in 2008 was sentenced to 10 years in Montana State Prison by Flathead County District Judge Ted Lympus on Thursday.

Brant Griffith pleaded guilty to felony sexual assault April 13 after reaching 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.

Prosecutors recommended a 20-year sentence with 10 years suspended, which Lympus delivered.

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 Griffith 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 currently is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center pending transportation to Montana State Prison.