A 32-year-old Kalispell man has been sentenced to the Montana State Prison for 40 years after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl between 2014 and 2016.
Justin Charles Hernandez appeared at a sentencing hearing before Judge Dan Wilson on March 8 in Flathead County District Court. The hearing came two months after Hernandez, who was previously charged with sexual intercourse without consent, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of felony sexual assault.
Hernandez will not be eligible for parole for 15 years and is now designated a level one sex offender. He received credit for 33 days served in jail and will have to pay more than $2,000 in restitution to the Department of Corrections.
According to court documents, Hernandez lived in the same home as the victim at the time of the incident. After receiving a report of a possible rape, the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office conducted a forensic interview with the victim where she described what Hernandez had done to her.