Judge sentences convicted child rapist to 25 years in prison

Convicted child rapist Ray Allen Roberts maintained his innocence even as Judge Robert Allison sentenced him to 25 years behind bars on June 22.

“I’m still shocked by it,” Roberts, 53, told Allison during his sentencing in Flathead County District Court. “I can’t believe this is even happening to me.”

Prosecutors alleged in court documents that Roberts sexually assaulted a toddler in June 2021. The child came forward later that year, telling her mother and grandmother that Roberts put his genitals in her mouth, court documents said.

She gave a similar account during a forensic interview with Child Advocacy Center personnel, according to court documents.

Roberts pleaded guilty to felony sexual intercourse without consent by way of an Alford plea in December 2022. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence while acknowledging a jury likely would find them guilty.

In exchange, prosecutors agreed to recommend he receive 45 years in Montana State Prison with 20 years suspended and a requirement that he complete sex offender treatment before becoming eligible for parole.

In court last week, Roberts blamed his previous lawyer for tricking him into the plea deal and said the attorney used his learning disability against him. Noting that an Alford plea, for practical purposes, amounted to a jury finding Roberts guilty, Allison told the 53-year-old that, from a judge’s perspective, his legal team had secured a favorable agreement.

“If there ever was a plea agreement I would toss, this is it,” Allison said of the deal.

Roberts’ defense attorney, Liam Gallagher, asked the court to consider five years with the state Department of Corrections with another 15 suspended. That would give Roberts time to undergo sex offender treatment and hold him accountable for any missteps, he argued.

The prosecution’s recommended sentence, Gallagher said, “is very close to a life sentence” given Roberts’ age.

“I actually think you should probably spend the rest of your life behind bars,” Allison later told Roberts, rejecting Gallagher’s proposal as out of the question. “I’d love to give you a 100 years.”

ILLYSSA THOMPSON, the mother of Roberts’ victim, told the court that the child has struggled with anger and other behavioral issues since her rape.

“She is not the same child anymore,” Thompson said, holding up a photo of the girl. “She does not get the carefree life she deserved.”

Thompson also pointed to Roberts’ lengthy criminal history while asking Allison to hold him accountable for his actions. The 53-year-old earned a suspended 15-year sentence for sexual assault in 1999, according to documents filed in district court. In the following years, he failed twice to complete court-ordered sex offender counseling, court documents said.

“She is one of the many victims of Ray Roberts’ abuses over the last decades,” Thompson said. “It’s not just her that’s been hurt. She’s not the only voice that deserves to be heard.”

It is past time that Roberts faced consequences, she said while testifying that his supporters had urged her against cooperating with investigators and prosecutors. They blame her, she said, for Roberts’ future stint in prison.

Thompson also sought $12,168 in restitution to account for time missed from work while dealing with the court proceedings and caring for her daughter.

“I don’t know if I will ever be able to forgive you,” she said, pivoting slightly to face Roberts from the witness stand. “I can’t forget the pain and suffering you have caused my daughter.”

Though Gallagher argued for a lessened restitution figure, Allison stuck to Thompson’s request. He also gave Roberts credit for 478 days of time served before remanding him to the custody of the sheriff.

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

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