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Crime

Flathead County Man Sentenced to Prison for Sexual Assault of Adopted Teen

John Paul Wehrman, 66, was sentenced to 20 years for assaulting a minor victim entrusted to his care

By Maggie Dresser
The Flathead County Justice Center in Kalispell. Beacon File Photo

A Flathead County man was sentenced last week to 20 years in the Montana State Prison after he admitted to sexually assaulting his adopted teenage daughter for a year-and-a-half period beginning in 2018.

John Paul Wehrman, 66, pleaded guilty earlier this year to one count of sexual assault, a felony. Two original counts of incest were dismissed as part of a plea agreement. Judge Amy Eddy presided over the sentencing hearing on Sept. 30 in Flathead County District Court.

According to court documents, Wehrman “knowingly subjected a minor to sexual contact without consent” for a prolonged period beginning shortly after Wehrman and his wifeadopted her in early 2018.

Following the final assault, which took place on Nov. 3, 2019, the victim snuck a used condom from the trash in the motorhome she shared with Wehrman and brought it to a family member, who then provided it to law enforcement. A crime lab analysis revealed the condom contained DNA profiles that matched Wehrman and the victim, according to court documents.

The victim also reported the assaults to a Child Protective Services Hotline, prompting Kalispell Police Department officers to get involved, according to court records. The victim told detectives the first instance of sexual contact occurred when she was 15.

In her testimony during the sentencing hearing, the victim described Wehrman as a “father figure,” but said the relationship changed after he initiated sexual contact.

After testifying at the hearing, the victim’s now adoptive mother, Doni Bennett, read a letter that the victim wrote to Flathead District Judge Dan Wilson during a separate Child Protective Services case following the victim’s removal from the Wehrmans.

During the hearing, Andy Hudak, a Flathead Valley therapist who works to prevent sexual abuse, helped write Montana’s standards of evaluation and worked with Werhman for roughly six months, said he “has all the characteristics of a low risk offender.”

Wehrman also testified during his sentencing hearing, telling Judge Eddy that he had fostered more than 30 children and apologizing for abusing someone in his care.

“The dad you knew at the beginning was the real me and I’m finding that person back again, and with the therapy I’ve been getting, I also see in a dark way how it progressed and how I was overwhelmed,” Wehrman said during the hearing. “I made a choice and I betrayed my precious daughter. I will carry that grief all of my life and I’m sorry.”

Hudak said Wehrman was in a state of “delusion” while he was the victim’s adoptive father.

“I’m suggesting he’s more of a con artist,” Flathead County Deputy Attorney Amy Kenison said.

Sean Hinchey, Wehrman’s attorney, cited the defendant’s lack of a criminal history as reason for a less severe sentence.

While Judge Eddy considered the defendant’s lack of criminal history, as well as his low risk to reoffend and his progressing treatment, she said she had the duty to sentence the defendant based on the degree of harm he caused the victim.

“The defendant not only repeatedly over the course of a year-and-a-half sexually assaulted a child but abused a position of trust and security with a child you knew to be extremely isolated and vulnerable,” Eddy said.