Man pleads guilty to felony sexual assault under plea deal

An 18-year-old man has admitted to sexually assaulting a young girl when he was a juvenile.
Justin McCally appeared in 22nd Judicial District Court last Thursday, June 23, and pleaded guilty to one felony count of sexual assault.
Under the terms of a plea agreement reached with the Stillwater County Attorney’s Office, two counts of felony aggravated assault will be dismissed and prosecutors will recommend a six year deferred sentence. The agreement also requires McCally to register as a sexual offender on the Montana Sexual and Violent Offender Registry as a Level 2 offender, meaning he is at moderate rate to reoffend.
He will also be required to undergo sexual offender treatment.
McCally admitted in court that he had knowingly had sexual contact with a girl who was under age 13 and he was three or more years older than the girl.
Sentencing was set for Aug. 25. McCally lost a bid to be released from the court-ordered GPS, arguing that there had been no violations and the fact that he was working two jobs and had graduated from high school. Stillwater County Attorney Nancy Rohde objected, saying the victim “remains fearful” and that McCally still needs structure.
Jones agreed with Rohde.
“Given the gravity of the situation, the court wants to err on the side of caution,” said Jones.

THE CASE
According to court documents, the Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by the Department of Public Health and Human Services (Child Protection Services) in February 2015 regarding a report of sexual and physical assaults of a minor filed by a school counselor.
The victim told investigators that the assaults began when she was in the third or fourth grade and included her having her hands and mouth duct-taped at times. Prosecutors contended that McCally “brutally tortured and used horrific acts of violence” to keep the victim compliant, which included hitting, punching and choking the victim, as well as allegedly holding her head under “dangerously hot water,” according to court documents.
McCally unsuccessfully sought to have the case tried in Youth Court because he was a juvenile at the time the crimes were committed. Jones denied the request, citing the following factors:
•A psycho-sexual evaluation that classified McCally as a Level 2 offender, meaning he is at moderate risk to reoffend. Also, the evaluator noted that the areas of concern identified are “very serious compared to other juvenile offenders he has dealt with,” according to the ruling.
•Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office Chief Investigator Woody Claunch characterized the crimes as being “heinous” with homicide being the only crime worse.
•Chief Juvenile Probation Officer Lindsey Fox said the Youth Court system would not have any services available to McCally even if the case was transferred to the Youth Court’s jurisdiction because he had turned 18 and was therefore ineligible for any services.
•Montana Department of Corrections Probation/Parole Officer Rita Frost said she believed that if convicted, McCally will be required to complete a sex offender treatment program, which normally takes from five to eight years for all three phases of that program. In the Youth Court system, McCally would be under supervision for a maximum of just seven years.