Prosecutors: Third boy alleges rape by youth hockey coach jailed in Butte

Prosecutors say a third young boy has come forward with allegations that a youth hockey coach from Flathead County raped him by inserting an unknown object in his rectum, an incident they believe occurred at a Butte hotel in January 2021.

Those and other accusations against 47-year-old Jami Leslie James are detailed in new charging documents filed in state District Court in Butte. They also include statements James made to police denying he ever sexually abused children and other claims made against him.

"James could not think of a motive as to why the allegations would be made against him," the newly filed affidavit says.

He also told a detective about his hockey camps, his associations with kids and their parents, prior complaints against him, and said he "feels he is constantly attacked due to his race." He is bi-racial.

Prosecutors in Butte-Silver Bow have charged James with two counts of sexual intercourse without consent for incidents they say occurred in Butte. Prosecutors in Flathead County have charged him with four counts for child rapes they believe happened there.

James was arrested in Flathead County on a Butte warrant in early February and was transported to the Butte-Silver Bow County jail on Feb. 10. Bond was initially set at $250,000 but was increased to $750,000 when Flathead County prosecutors filed their own charges.

A judge has ordered that James be transported to Flathead County for a March 30 arraignment on charges there and then be taken back to Butte, where an April 5 arraignment to enter pleas is set. Each of the six counts is punishable by up to 100 years in prison.

Scott Hilderman, an attorney in Kalispell representing James, told The Montana Standard on Wednesday that it was "very early in the case" and his client hasn't seen any evidence against him. He said James is innocent and will "absolutely" plead not guilty to all the charges.

The charges initially involved two 8-year-old boys who attended hockey camps led by James, but a third boy saw a newspaper article and photo about James' arrest in early February. He told his parents two days later, "I think JJ did that to me," Butte-Silver Bow prosecutors say.

"That" refers to sticking something in his rectum, which prosecutors believe occurred at the Fairfield Inn in Butte in January 2021. They allege one rape occurred in 2019 at a different Butte hotel, three happened at James' residence in Columbia Falls and one occurred during a campout at Hungry Horse Reservoir. The ones in Flathead County happened in 2020, prosecutors say.

The alleged victims all describe similar assaults but could not identify the object used. During forensic interviews, one boy said other private parts were not touched and he was never forced to touch James. Another boy said James was clothed and didn't do anything to his own body.

One of the alleged victims is from Butte, one used to live in Butte but his family has since moved, and documents indicate the third boy is from Flathead County. The mother of one said James reached out to her in 2018 wanting to recruit her son to attend his hockey camp.

She was familiar with his camps "as she knew other Butte families who sent their children to the camps and stated her own nephew attended the camp," prosecutors said. She agreed to have her son enrolled and said he had attended several camps coached by James.

According to the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell, James said he moved to Montana in 2016 and launched the North American Hockey Academy in 2017. His program was located on U.S. 93 and boasted nearly 700 students within a few years, he told the Inter Lake in 2020.

He told the newspaper he is bi-racial and was identified in one story as the only black hockey coach in Montana.

According to the new charging documents, James waived his Miranda rights and agreed to talk to a Flathead County detective following his arrest. Among other things, he said:

—He is a hockey coach and conducts summer and weekend camps in towns across Montana.

—His team plays primarily in Canada and he refuses to participate in Montana hockey associations due to being a victim of racism. "James feels he is constantly attacked due to his race," the affidavit says.

—His programs are governed by USA Hockey and he identified another company, SafeSport, in which parents could file anonymous complaints against coaching staff for bullying, harassment, etc.

—He has received several SafeSport complaints "for being mean to kids" and telling kids "he loved them." He said the complaints were unfounded and his love for kids was from a "coach's perspective" and not inappropriate.

—Received a complaint from SafeSport alleging sexual misconduct on multiple children from 2019-2022. That prompted him to hire an attorney and he hasn't heard of any further details regarding the claims against him except they were from Butte.

—He guessed some might have come from the mother of one boy and her husband. He said he had a past confrontation with the husband because he had a racist tattoo. The man apologized for it, saying it was in his past, and he later donated $3,000 to James' hockey program.

—James suspected the money was "also to buy playing time" for the boy but he was later cut from the team.

—He was friends with the mother of another boy and they frequently had dinners and drinks together. When the detective asked if they were in a relationship, he told him he "could draw his own conclusions."

—He had hosted some of his camps in Butte and once considered moving there because it was a more centralized location.

—One boy was homesick when at summer camp and had issues with wetting the bed.

—Kids stayed at hotels with him but none were allowed to sleep in the same area as he and his own son.

—He was outspoken and had posted an anti-bullying video on Dec. 5 titled "Ignore the Bull[expletive]" and had "called people out without using names." He said 24 hours later, USA Hockey told him he was suspended from coaching duties.

In a June 20, 2020 story in the Inter Lake, James said he grew up in Berkeley, California, the son of a white woman who worked as a physical education teacher.

"He never knew his biological father and though his mother remarried when he was 13, his primary role models and father figures were coaches and other families that took him under (their) wing," the story says.

It said he earned a degree in child psychology from Castleton State College, a master's degree in social work from San Jose State University and was a certified trainer and SafeSport-certified, level 4 USA Hockey Coach.

The story was part of a series The Inter Lake did on the viewpoints of local residents of color during the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd's death.

"Having grown up playing one of the most predominantly white sports in the world, JJ, who is bi-racial, has experienced racism at every level of hockey, both as a player and as a coach," the story said.

In the newly filed affidavit, the mother of the third alleged victim said she learned about James' arrest on Feb. 7 "and was in disbelief" and "couldn't believe James would do such a thing."

She said she didn't want to talk to her son about the charges in case James was innocent. She "stated they were avid supporters of James and stated (her son's) hockey skills had blossomed after attending James' mid-day camps and development weekends," the affidavit says.

When the boy's father picked him up from school on Feb. 9, the boy saw a newspaper article in the truck that had the arrest article on the front page.

Two days later, the boy asked to speak to his parents in private and started crying, saying he thought James "did that to me." When the mother asked if the act was similar to checking a baby's temperature with a thermometer from behind, he said yes, the affidavit says.

He said it occurred in a hotel room and from information in a forensic interview with the boy, notes from the mother and other sources, Butte detectives determined it most likely occurred at the Fairfield Inn in Butte on a January weekend in 2021.

A Butte detective contacted SafeSport and was told it was an independent organization used by USA Hockey to investigate allegations of misconduct. A SafeSport representative said primary complaints against James "stem from hosting overnight camps with children, which is strictly prohibited by USA Hockey," the affidavit says.

The representative said James was able to avoid formal sanctions from USA Hockey "up to this point" and believed it was because his camps were conducted by his private business, North American Prep, and was not bound by USA Hockey rules.

One investigation followed an accusation that James was in a hotel room with boys and one was sitting on his lap while James was drinking a beer. He did appear to be doing that in a photo, the affidavit says.

The detective also reviewed a letter from the Montana Amateur Hockey Association that details findings of a SafeSport investigation. The letter included five specific issues:

1. James being one on one in a locker room with kids, one of whom stated James told him he loved him.

2. James having kids stay overnight at his house without adequate supervision.

3. James telling kids unpleasant stories about being strangled by his father, being clinically dead, and then revived.

4. James blowing a kiss to a complainant's son in a hockey arena.

5. James being removed from Lake Tahoe Hockey in California over a SafeSport violation.

According to the affidavit, the letter says James was interviewed and denied allegations 1 and 4. The letter confirms James was removed from Lake Tahoe Hockey after he failed to appropriately report an alleged sexual assault that was disclosed to him by a player.

Mike Smith is a reporter at the Montana Standard with an emphasis on government and politics.