Sentencing delayed for a second time in child sex case

Sentencing had to be delayed a second time on Thursday for a man convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 2012.

A prosecutor, defense attorney and Flathead District Judge David Ortley all agreed that the six-month delay has been exasperating.

Jared Eugene Wink, 38, was convicted of felony criminal endangerment in July as part of a plea agreement in which charges of sexual intercourse without consent and sexual assault were dropped.

According to court documents, Wink gave an underage girl alcohol and had sex with her on one occasion; another time he took her on a fishing trip and had sex with her. The girl told investigators that Wink told her to “pinky swear” not to tell anybody.

A judge can send Wink to prison for 10 years for the crime, though a suspended sentence has been recommended. A psycho-sexual evaluation must be completed before a mandatory presentence investigation can be done. Wink has been waiting six months for the evaluation.

Wink’s attorney Sean Hinchey said he has tried to no avail to get the evaluation speeded up.

“It’s no fault of Mr. Wink’s,” Hinchey said of the delay.

Prosecutor Allison Howard said that the delay has been a problem for the victim, who wants to testify during sentencing but lives out of state.

“This is really unfair to the victim,” Howard said. “Her family has twice made arrangements to travel from Idaho only to have it continued.”

Howard inquired if there was anything the court could do to speed up the process and send a message to the psychologist in charge of the evaluation that he “has got to get the message about missing these court-ordered deadlines.”

Judge Ortley reset sentencing for Feb. 18, with a status conference in January to make sure the evaluation had been completed. He said he hoped the psychologist would be up front about whether or not there was a possibility of getting the evaluation done on time. Ortley said the delay does not reflect the quality of the popular psychologist’s work.

“My problem is that his expertise is in great demand and limited supply,” Ortley said.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or mstrickland@dailyinterlake.com.