Judge denies probation release for Dasen Sr.

Richard Dasen Sr. didn’t get an early Christmas present.

At a hearing Thursday in Flathead County District Court, Dasen Sr., 77, was denied an early release from probation by Judge Heidi Ulbricht.

The former Kalispell businessman was convicted of four counts of prostitution, sexual abuse of children and promotion of prostitution in 2005 in a case that shocked the Flathead Valley following his arrest in February 2004, after authorities said Dasen paid women and girls for sex, that he took sexual photographs of girls under the age of 18, that he had sex with a girl under the age of consent at 15, and that he enticed poor and drug-addicted women and girls to become prostitutes with large amounts of money.

Ulbricht denied Dasen’s first request for a conditional release Sept. 24, 2018.

As he did more than a year ago, Dasen Sr. connected with the court by telephone from where he resides in Waddell, Arizona.

Dasen Sr. said he first applied for early release when he received paperwork from Montana Probation and Parole in 2018.

“I’ve been on probation for 12 years, which is two-thirds of my sentence, with no violations and I’ve passed polygraph tests every year,” Dasen Sr. said.

When Flathead Deputy County Attorney Andrew Clegg asked Dasen Sr. what had changed since his first request for release from supervision, he replied “one year.”

Clegg explained that he had reached out to several victims.

While none wanted to testify, a mother of one of the women caught up in the case, Connie Guzman, did speak on their behalf.

“These girls want to move on with their lives, they are good, honest, hard-working people who have parents,” Guzman said. “I think Dasen got off incredibly easy. It’s unthinkable to let him off of supervision.”

Guzman lost her oldest daughter years ago in a tragic car accident, but she has maintained friendships with some of her daughter’s friends who were part of the ongoing incidents.

“I still don’t think justice was done,” Guzman said. “Dasen gave those girls money to pay their bills and for dope, but if they said ‘no’ his people would threaten them. If he had been anyone else, he’d still be in prison.”

Clegg said it “would send the wrong message” to give Dasen an early release from his probation.

“Also, if he is freed from probation, because he is living in Arizona, the charges would be gone and his probation couldn’t be revoked and he couldn’t be jailed if he did something else,” Clegg said.

In May 2005, after a month-long trial, a jury convicted Dasen Sr. of several offenses and he was later sentenced to 20 years, 18 suspended. He was released in May 2007 and has been on probation since then.

According to a previous Daily Inter Lake story, Dasen helped shape Kalispell’s business landscape, including construction of the Outlaw Inn, Kalispell Regional Medical Center, Ashley Square and Southfield Tower. He was known as a generous philanthropist and community leader.

The investigation into Dasen’s private life revealed that he had spent millions of dollars on sex over a five-year period. Then-Kalispell Police Chief Frank Garner said early on in the Dasen case that his officers already had put in a thousand man-hours on the investigation.

Twenty-two women and girls were convicted of misdemeanor prostitution charges in connection with the case.

Dasen Sr. also had financial troubles related to his crimes, including $786,000 in unpaid state income taxes and a federal tax lien. By the time a federal jury in Missoula awarded $2.2 million in damages to a girl who sued Dasen over a sexual encounter when she was 16, Dasen said he was broke.

In 2006, the girl filed a second lawsuit against Dasen, family members and former business partners, alleging the fraudulent transfer of assets to avoid paying damages. At the time, the girl’s attorney estimated that more than $6 million of Dasen’s money had “disappeared.”

Soon after, Dasen was forced into involuntary bankruptcy by his former companies and his criminal defense attorney.

In February 2009 the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Dasen’s appeal of the $2.2 million federal jury award.

Dasen Sr. is eligible to be released from his term of supervision in 2025 when he will be 83.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com