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Kalispell Man Pleads Guilty to Child Sex Assault

Montana Supreme Court overturned Nichols’ previous sexual assault conviction

By Justin Franz
Thomas Nichols appears in Flathead County District Court on Jan. 7, 2016. Greg Lindstrom | Flathead Beacon

A Kalispell man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl less than a year after the Montana Supreme Court overturned a previous assault conviction.

Thomas Richard Nichols pleaded guilty by way of Alford in Flathead County District Court on May 19. An Alford plea occurs when a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges that the prosecution has enough evidence that, if presented to a jury, would likely result in a conviction.

According to court documents, Nichols touched a 5-year-old girl in a sexually suggestive manner in late 2015. In December, he was charged with sexual assault.

The charges came a year after the Montana Supreme Court overturned Nichols’ previous sexual assault conviction. In early 2010, Nichols, then 20 years old, allegedly touched a 9-year-old girl in a sexual way. He was charged with sexual assault and sexual intercourse without consent and was found guilty of both at trial in December 2011. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison.

In early 2015, the Montana Supreme Court overturned his conviction arguing that jurors had heard unfairly prejudicial testimony during the trial, specifically about Nichols’ past sexual habits.

Soon after the conviction was overturned, the Flathead County Attorney’s Office again filed charges against Nichols. In June 2015, he took a deal and pleaded no contest to an amended charge of felony criminal endangerment. The second count, sexual intercourse without consent, was dropped and Nichols was given a 10-year suspended sentence to the Montana State Prison.

On May 19, Nichols agreed to plead guilty by way of Alford to sexual assault. In the plea agreement, prosecutors and the defense recommend Judge Heidi Ulbricht sentence Nichols to 50 years in the Montana State Prison with 25 years suspended. He will not be eligible for parole until he completes sexual offender treatment courses in prison. The 10-year suspended sentence stemming from the 2010 incident has also been revoked and will run consecutive to the sentence Ulbricht will hand down at a hearing scheduled for July 21.