A Kalispell man has been sentenced to the Montana State Prison for 100 years after he was convicted at a new trial for raping an 11-year-old girl nearly a decade ago.
Jason Franks’ sentencing hearing came nearly two months after a jury convicted him during a February retrial that was ordered by the Montana Supreme Court. The high court reversed Franks’ 2012 conviction because it ruled prosecutors had gone too far by referencing a separate molestation charge against the defendant to create the impression that he was a habitual abuser of children.
Franks was previously convicted of sexual assault in 1992 and was acquitted in a molestation case involving a 5-year-old in the 2000s.
The Kalispell man was brought to trial a third time in 2012 after an 11-year-old girl told her father that Franks had raped her in 2006. It was during that trial that prosecutors made reference to the failed molestation case, something the Montana Supreme Court justices felt violated Franks’ right to a fair trial.
Franks was charged again and convicted of sexual intercourse without consent in February.
At the start of the April 7 sentencing hearing, Franks dismissed his attorney and proceeded to represent himself.
During the hearing, the court heard testimony from the victim of the crime who is now 20 years old. The woman told the court how traumatizing it was to go through two trials but that it was nothing compared to what Franks had put her through a decade earlier.
“I hope you rot in hell for eternity after you rot in prison for the rest of your life,” the woman said, looking at Franks across the courtroom.
Prior to the sentencing recommendation, Franks told the court that he was innocent of all charges.
Prosecutors recommended a 100-year sentence to the Montana State Prison and Franks, surprisingly, agreed with that punishment.
“For the sake of me and the community, please give me life in prison so that I never have to be accused of this again,” he said.
Judge Robert Allison then sentenced Franks to 100 years with the Montana State Prison. The judge also stipulated that Franks get credit for time served, be designated a level two sex offender and complete sexual offender treatment prior to being eligible for parole. Allison also added that should Franks ever be paroled that he be given hormone-suppression drugs before he is released.
Montana became the second state in the nation to approve the use of “chemical castration” in 1997. The drug is administered a week before the prisoner is released and reduces the subject’s sex drive.