Convicted murderer back in prison after taking deal in rape case
Jesse Rolen Curtis. (Photo courtesy the Montana Department of Corrections)
A Flathead County District Court judge last month sent a convicted murderer accused of raping a teenage girl in 2024 back to prison.
Jesse Rolen Curtis, 44, of Columbia Falls, was on probation for an out-of-state second-degree murder conviction when he allegedly sexually assaulted the teen between July and August of 2024. He pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent at his Jan. 16, 2025, arraignment, but struck a deal with prosecutors in March of this year.
In exchange for an Alford plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend that Curtis serve 20 years in Montana State Prison with 14 years suspended. In an Alford plea, a defendant maintains their innocence, but acknowledges a jury likely would find them guilty.
Judge Danni Coffman followed the terms of the deal at Curtis' April 30 sentencing, ordering the Montana sentence to run concurrent with the sentence stemming from a 2004 second-degree murder conviction in Hennepin County, Minnesota. Coffman designated Curtis a level two sex offender and gave him credit for 506 days of time served.
Curtis has since been transferred to Montana State Prison.
Authorities began investigating Curtis after the rape allegations were reported to the Montana Child Abuse hotline in September 2024, according to court documents. The victim told investigators that the rape occurred while she was visiting her grandfather and step-grandmother in the Flathead Valley that summer.
She said she met Curtis, who is the son of her step-grandmother, during the trip. Curtis raped the girl at least three times that she was aware of, according to court documents.
Along with the second-degree murder conviction, Curtis' criminal history includes a conviction for assault in 2016, kidnapping in 2002, and drug possession and other drug-related crimes in 1999, according to court documents.
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