Eight-day trial scheduled for Kila man charged with incest
Flathead County District Judge Dan Wilson last week set aside eight days for the upcoming trial of a Kila man accused of raping a 9-year-old girl in 2020 and denied a motion by the defense to continue the case yet again.
The jury trial for Timothy Allen Seese, 70, on a single count of felony incest is tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 13, according to documents filed in district court. If convicted, Seese faces up to 100 years behind bars with a deferred or suspended sentence unavailable for the initial 25 years. Seese likewise would be ineligible for parole for the first quarter century.
Via his lawyer, Seese on Jan. 4 unsuccessfully sought to see the trial pushed off until summer, citing ongoing health problems. Cold weather makes breathing challenging for Seese, said defense attorney Liam Gallagher. Were he to testify, summer weather was preferable, Gallagher said.
When Wilson, expressing skepticism about the effect of the weather on courtroom proceedings, asked for a medical opinion or documents supporting the request Gallagher pointed to Seese’s oxygen pump.
“Part of it, your honor, is also stress,” Seese told the court.
Deputy County Attorney John Donovan, who is prosecuting the case, objected to the motion to continue.
“I think Mr. Seese is going to be in a stressful environment whether it’s February or July,” Donovan said.
Wilson, who noted the case has been pending since 2020, ultimately denied the request before scheduling eight days for the trial. Two other trials are slated to begin the same day, according to Wilson’s order setting the date, with the onus on the prosecution to determine which one to move ahead with.
Authorities began investigating Seese in June 2020 after a woman told the Whitefish Police Department that a 9-year-old revealed the alleged assault to her, court documents said. The child later met with an investigator and said that Seese had put his mouth on her genitals on at least two occasions, according to court documents.
Both incidents occurred in her home in Whitefish, according to court documents, and began with him blowing on her stomach. Seese, who is related to the 9-year-old, told investigators he blew “raspberries on her stomach” during a subsequent interview, court documents said.
Asked whether he put his mouth to her genitals, Seese allegedly said “I don’t think so, but maybe it did.”
The case has been continued from one jury term to the next on multiple occasions, including in October 2020 and in March, July and October 2021, according to documents filed in district court. In March 2022, prosecutors amended the charge from sexual intercourse without consent to incest. The case was pushed back once more in August 2022.
News Editor Derrick Perkins can be reached at 758-4430 or dperkins@dailyinterlake.com.