New plea deal denied in sexual assault case

Proceedings will return to square one in the case of a Bigfork man accused of felony sexual assault in 2015 following a judge’s acceptance of a plea withdrawal and rejection of a new plea agreement Wednesday.

George Wilcoxen, 73, appeared in Flathead County District Court before Judge Heidi Ulbricht on March 28 to withdraw an Alford plea he entered and was sentenced for in January.

Wilcoxen was previously sentenced to 20 years in prison with 15 suspended with a recommendation for Intensive Supervised Parole and 30 days in the Flathead County Detention Center.

Wilcoxen claimed that upon sentencing, it was his understanding that he had been screened and accepted into Intensive Supervised Parole and would be incarcerated for no more than 30 days.

According to Wilcoxen’s defense attorney Peter Leander, a change in protocol for the parole program led to Wilcoxen being taken to the Missoula Assessment and Sanction Center after 30 days where he remained incarcerated for a total of 87 days.

Ulbricht accepted his petition to withdraw his plea, determining that he was not made fully aware of the correct information pertaining to his sentence.

Leander reached a new agreement with the state and presented it to the court following the withdrawal.

The agreement called for 20 years in Montana State Prison with all 20 years suspended.

The alleged victim of the case as well as Dr. Robert Page, who performed a psychosexual evaluation on Wilcoxen, agreed to the terms of the agreement and supported the recommended sentence.

Wilcoxen was originally charged with felony sexual assault in 2015 after a 6-year-old girl stated he had taken her into his bedroom, held her down and touched her inappropriately during an overnight stay.

The charge of felony sexual assault normally requires a minimum sentence of four years in prison, which can be waived if the judge makes a written finding that would allow for an exception.

Page testified that he believed that if given a prison sentence, Wilcoxen would not receive sufficient treatment and that he would have better treatment options in the community. He rated Wilcoxen at a low risk of re-offense and recommended screening that would include a polygraph test and extensive psychological evaluation that would potentially determine Wilcoxen’s need for treatment and what that should include.

As part of the agreement, Wilcoxen was to enter a new Alford guilty plea, which would result in a guilty conviction while allowing him to maintain his innocence.

The new Alford plea would be his third plea in the case spanning back three years, following his initial no guilty plea and the following Alford plea that was repealed.

In a statement the victim’s mother read aloud on the stand, she stated that she too hoped the judge would accept the plea agreement that would result in Wilcoxen’s immediate release.

“As the victim’s mother, my touchstone has always been what I believe is in the best interest of my children,” the victim’s mother said. “I have given this careful thought and have searched my heart, and I truly believe that it is in the best interest of my daughter and all of my family. It will hopefully allow us to move forward with the healing process and finally put this very painful experience behind us.”

Following testimony of both Page and the victim’s mother, Ulbricht returned from a 30-minute recess to reject the plea agreement.

Her reason for doing so, she said, was the lack of recommended and guaranteed sex offender treatment.

“Based upon Dr. Page’s recommendation, the court doesn’t have a treatment recommendation and at this point it feels that it’s getting the cart before the horse,” she said.

Gasps echoed through the courtroom at the decision, while Ulbricht repeatedly rejected Leander’s attempts to delay sentencing in order to give what he believed would be a better representation of what the defense attempted to convey through Page’s testimony.

“I am concerned that there is a misunderstanding of Dr. Page’s report and of what he professionally and ethically can recommend to the court within that report as far as treatment options,” Leander said. “I’m concerned that there was a break in the nexus between what he can say and what the court is looking for.”

Ulbricht denied his request, saying, “It isn’t a good use of judicial resources to go through this process again when the court has heard the testimony you’ve provided and the court’s made its finding.”

Bond was set at $20,000 and Wilcoxen was remanded to the custody of the Department of Corrections pending the postage of bond or his jury trial scheduled for Sept. 10.

If found guilty by a jury, Wilcoxen faces a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum life sentence.

Reporter Mary Cloud Taylor can be reached at 758-4459 or mtaylor@dailyinterlake.com.