Man withdraws plea in sex assault case

George Wilcoxen of Bigfork will face a jury on a felony sexual assault charge after withdrawing an Alford plea following the judge’s rejection of a binding plea agreement before a packed courtroom on Aug. 30.

Judge Heidi Ulbricht set the jury trial for Jan. 16, 2018 in Flathead District Court.

Wilcoxen, 72, is accused of sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl.

He previously pleaded guilty by way of Alford during a change of plea hearing on April 11. An Alford plea results in a conviction, but allows a defendant to maintain his or her innocence. It acknowledges that a defendant is likely to be found guilty at trial.

A plea agreement drawn up by the state and defense and approved by the complainant’s parents called for a 10-year suspended sentence with the Department of Corrections. Although a plea agreement was reached, the judge is not bound to follow it, which Ulbricht explained in court.

Prior to withdrawing Wilcoxen’s plea, defense attorney Peter Leander asked Ulbricht “what sentence the court would be inclined to impose,” to which she replied, “the court hasn’t had a sentencing hearing yet, so it would be an open sentence proceeding forward.”

A five-minute recess was granted for Leander to talk with Wilcoxen, after which, the plea was withdrawn and accepted by the court.

According to court documents, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a report in July 2015 from a woman who said her daughter had been sexually assaulted by Wilcoxen during an overnight stay at his residence sometime between June 1, 2013, and Aug. 15, 2013. The victim told a forensic interviewer at the Flathead County Children’s Advocacy Center that Wilcoxen reportedly took her into his bedroom, held her down and touched her inappropriately.

Before the hearing concluded there was some question about a condition that Wilcoxen have no contact with minors. The defense requested Wilcoxen be able to visit family members who are minors, with an approved supervisor. Leander said there were a few of Wilcoxen’s relatives present in court who were supportive of this and were “very well aware of the dynamics” of the case. The question of who would approve a supervisor was discussed.

“At this juncture the court is going to deny, but it would leave open that I think if you provide some of that information to [prosecutor] Mr. Clegg it could be that it’s stipulated of who would be an appropriate supervisor if there is contact,” Ulbricht said. “Since this was set for sentencing hearing and not modifications of condition of release I doubt if Mr. Clegg’s prepared to go in depth on that.”

If found guilty, Wilcoxen could face a minimum of four and up to 100 years in prison since the victim was under the age of 16 at the time of the alleged offense and the defendant was three or more years older than the victim.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.