A 34-year-old Kalispell man was sentenced to 30 years in the Montana State Prison with 20 years suspended after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl.
Timothy Gerald Etchison was sentenced in Flathead County District Court on March 19, three years after he sexually assaulted a child his girlfriend was babysitting.
According to court documents, Etchison and his girlfriend were watching three young children in October 2012. When the girlfriend took one of the other children to an appointment, Etchison was left alone with the other two children, including the victim.
After going home to her parents, the 4-year-old girl told them that Etchison had licked her in an inappropriate location. The girl was taken to Kalispell Regional Medical Center where a sexual assault exam was conducted. Investigators were later able to connect DNA from the girl to Etchison.
Etchison was charged with sexual intercourse without consent, a felony, in April 2014. In December 2014, Etchison agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge, sexual assault, and be sentenced to 30 years in the Montana State Prison with 20 years suspended. Judge Ted O. Lympus agreed to the plea agreement and Etchison will not be eligible for parole until he has completed various sexual offender programs in prison.