Woman involved in Dasen prostitution case freed from sex offender registration
A local woman involved in a prostitution case involving a high-profile Kalispell businessman will no longer have to register as a sex offender.
Kimberly Hope Gauchay, 40, was known as Kimberly Neise in 2003 when she was charged with aggravated promotion of prostitution for bringing Dick Dasen Sr. willing females to engage in sex acts.
It was a case that stunned many in the Flathead Valley due to the fact Dasen was a church-going Kalispell businessman and philanthropist who often met people in financial troubles through one of his businesses, Christian Financial Counseling. He was arrested in February 2004 on prostitution-related charges.
Gauchay filed a petition in Flathead County District Court March 22 that would relieve her of having to register as a sex offender because she was not designated as a sex offender or a sexually violent predator, and since she has had to register she has not been convicted of a second or subsequent offense that would require registration.
According to court documents, the Flathead County Attorney’s Office and Gauchay’s state probation and parole officer had no objection.
On Tuesday Flathead District Court Judge Amy Eddy approved the court order.
According to a 2004 story in the Daily Inter Lake, court officials encouraged Gauchay to turn her life around as she was sentenced to 10 years with five suspended for aggravated promotion of prostitution and theft.
Gauchay admitted recruiting two teenage girls to sexually entertain Dasen Sr. in July 2003. She also was convicted of stealing checks from her grandmother; a felony charge of forgery from the same event in July 2003 was dropped.
She pleaded guilty to the two charges, saying she received between $35,000 and $50,000 from Dasen. She said she engaged in sex with him and brought him willing females.
Gauchay admitted to a methamphetamine addiction that clouded her judgment. However, a pre-sentence report, referred to at her sentencing, indicated her problems predated that. She was in trouble as a juvenile, the report said.
Gauchay had legal trouble in 2017 and 2018 when she was charged with forgery and drug possession. She pleaded guilty to forgery and was sentenced to 10 years, with nine suspended, in a state Department of Corrections facility.
She was released from a treatment facility on May 18, 2018, but a report from her probation officer in July 2018 indicated she had used meth. She was re-sentenced to nine years suspended.
Dasen Sr., who is now 78 years old and living in Arizona, sought an early release from probation in December 2019, but District Judge Heidi Ulbricht denied it.
Dasen Sr. was convicted of four counts of prostitution, sexual abuse of children and promotion of prostitution in 2005. The shocking case followed 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.
Dasen Sr. was sentenced to 20 years, with 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.
Twenty-two women and girls were convicted of misdemeanor prostitution charges in connection with the case.
Dasen Sr. is eligible to be released from his term of supervision in 2025 when he will be 83.
Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.