A Kalispell man who fathered a child with a 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to the Montana State Prison for 15 years with 10 years suspended.
Rudy Chandler, 29, was sentenced on April 28 in Flathead County District Court less than a year after he was arrested and charged with sexual intercourse without consent.
According to court documents, Chandler was engaged to the minor’s caregiver. Chandler had sex with the minor in July 2014 and she became pregnant. The sexual assault was first reported to the police in February 2015, when the girl was over eight months pregnant. Soon after, authorities collected a DNA sample from Chandler.
On April 6, 2015, the girl gave birth to the child and additional DNA samples were collected. The samples were sent to the Montana State Crime lab that ruled Chandler could be the father. In July 2015, during an interview with police, Chandler admitted that he had sex with the minor.
Chandler was arrested and charged in July 2015 and initially pleaded not guilty to the accusations. In December 2015, Chandler changed his plea to guilty. During the hearing on April 28, Judge Amy Eddy sentenced Chandler to 15 years in prison with 10 years suspended. He was given credit for 283 days in jail and was designated a level one sex offender.