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Accused Missoula Flasher to Move to Bigfork While Awaiting Trial

Cole William Francisco is accused of exposing his genitalia to young girls at a bus stop in March

By Justin Franz

A 22-year-old University of Montana student who allegedly exposed himself to at least four young girls in Lolo in March is moving to Bigfork while awaiting trial.

Cole William Francisco has been charged with five counts of indecent exposure and one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs in Missoula County District Court. He has been in jail since March and pleaded not guilty to all six counts, four of which are felonies, in April.

Francisco appeared in court on Sept. 2 where his attorney told District Court Judge Karen Townsend that Francisco’s family had posted his $125,000 bond, the Missoulian reports. While Francisco awaits trail he will be in the custody of his grandparents in Bigfork. However, prosecutors raised concerns about a requirement that bars Francisco from being within 1,500 feet of a school, bus stop or park. Due to the location of Francisco’s grandparent’s home, he would have to drive within the 1,500-foot zone to get to his job in the Kalispell area.

According to the Missoulian, Judge Townsend told the court that she would allow Francisco to drive past those sites but that he needs supervision every time he leaves his grandparents’ home and must wear a GPS tracking device.

Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry noted that Francisco is still awaiting trial and thus has not been found guilty of a crime in this situation, however he has been informed of the man’s arrival.

“It’s on our radar and we’re aware of the situation,” Curry said.

According to court documents, Francisco exposed himself to four different girls over three days in March. All the girls ranged in age from 11 to 15. On March 19, a Missoula City Police officer spotted someone matching Francisco’s description at a gas station. Francisco was taken into custody and questioned at the Missoula County Sheriff’s Office.

While there, Francisco allegedly admitted to flashing the four girls and according to court documents, he told police that “it gave him a sexual ‘rush’ to have girls ‘catch’ him while he was masturbating.” After obtaining a search warrant, police found a half-empty vial of Ketamine, a Schedule II dangerous drug that is normally used on animals, but has been abused as a “date-rape” drug.

At the time of Francisco’s arrest he was on misdemeanor probation for surreptitious visual observation while masturbating and looking through a woman’s window in 2014. The Missoulian also reports that Franciso was previously convicted in California for a weapons violation, after loitering outside of a woman’s bathroom with a pistol in his backpack.

If convicted, Francisco could face up to 100 years in prison. He is due back in court in November.