Local man admits to raping underage girl about a decade ago

A Kalispell man on Monday admitted in Flathead County District Court to knowingly raping an underage girl about a decade ago.

Jon Allen Wilson, 32, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent before Judge Danni Coffman at a May 15 change of plea hearing. Coffman set sentencing for July 12 and agreed to let Wilson remove a GPS monitoring device.

Wilson entered the changed plea after striking a deal with prosecutors. Although the agreement was not yet filed in district court as of press time, defense attorney Julianne Hinchey indicated that she would request a deferred sentence while prosecutors would argue for a suspended sentence.

The mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for the felony charge — four years in Montana State Prison — would be waived as per the agreement, she told the court.

Prosecutors brought the charge against Wilson in November 2022. According to the charging documents, Wilson’s victim came forward to Kalispell Police officers with her account of the roughly 10-year-old rape in February of that year.

The victim told authorities that she expressed interest in Wilson when she was about 12, court documents said. The two were fellow parishioners at a local church and Wilson was roughly 18 years old at the time, she told investigators, according to court documents.

The pair began communicating and eventually Wilson allegedly snuck into her Kalispell home, fondling her breasts and rubbing her genitals. He later penetrated her vagina with his finger, court documents said.

The victim told investigators she ended the relationship when she was 15 years of age and Wilson was 22.

Confronted, Wilson told detectives he knew she was underage, “but appreciated the attention,” court documents said. He also allegedly admitted raping the then-girl, though he pleaded not guilty at his December 2022 arraignment.

“Wilson essentially admitted to everything [the victim] reported,” court documents read.

Under oath Monday, Wilson repeated those admissions as Hinchey walked him through the allegations. Wilson acknowledged knowing how old she was at the time — he was about 20 years of age, he said — and engaging in non consensual sex with the victim. In his version, as relayed through Hinchey’s questions, the victim solicited the relationship.

But “she was much too young, wasn’t she?” Hinchey asked.

“Yes, she was,” Wilson replied with a furrowed brow.

He said he understood that, given her age, the victim could not consent.

Asked about his mental state at the time, Wilson agreed with the assessment that he was struggling with depression and suicidal ideation. When confronted last year about the decade-old incidents, he said he immediately admitted to the crime to investigators.

“I just want to say I am sorry,” Wilson told the court.

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