Property manager pleads not guilty to rape charge

The manager of a low-income housing unit in Kalispell accused of using the threat of eviction to rape a woman in 2021 has pleaded not guilty in Flathead County District Court.

Richard Gordon Dilka, 34, was arraigned May 5 on a single count of felony sexual intercourse without consent before Judge Heidi Ulbricht. Dates for future court appearances were not immediately available.

Authorities launched an investigation into Dilka in March 2021 after receiving word of a Jan. 6 sexual assault from a third party. Kalispell Police officers subsequently met with the victim, who said Dilka entered her room using a master key in January and raped her, court documents said.

According to the victim’s account, Dilka threatened her with eviction.

In an interview, Dilka denied the allegations, according to court documents, and said he lacked a key to the woman’s unit. But he allegedly later acknowledged the incident could have occurred “when he was extremely intoxicated.”

Investigators later learned it was likely that Dilka had a key to the unit, court documents said. A warrant for his arrest was issued April 1.

Dilka, initially held on a $50,000 bond, is no longer listed as an inmate in the Flathead County Detention Center.

News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.