By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – A Hill County man convicted of sexual assault on allegations of raping a 13-year-old girl in October 2018 has been sentenced to 10-years in the Department of Corrections, all suspended, and ordered to serve 180 days in the county jail, with credit for eight days previously served. He was also designated as a Tier 1 Sex Offender.
Jaden Peet, now 20-years-old, was sentenced on Monday afternoon by Judge Yvonne Laird in Hill County District Court.
The 172 days must be served within the next 36 months and in consecutive blocks of no fewer than 10 days. Peet must pay costs of incarceration, as well as $6,568.27 in restitution, plus a 10 percent surcharge for administrative fees.
Peet also must comply by the 51 conditions of his suspended sentence laid out in the Pre-Sentencing Investigation. Among those conditions includes being prohibited from contact with anyone under 18 unless they know of Peet’s sex offender status, and being banned from using the internet without permission.
Peet must also undergo sex offender treatment.
The victim, who is still a minor, was in the courtroom during sentencing but did not speak. She has previously provided a victim impact statement in which she noted that Peet had not apologized.
Peet also did not apologize when he spoke at the sentencing hearing, instead saying he has matured since the incident, takes full responsibility, and has stayed out of trouble.
Judge Laird said Peet’s lack of apology contributed to the sentence, which was less stringent than the mandatory minimum of four years in DOC, none suspended, but more stringent than the five years, all suspended, requested in the plea agreement.
Judge Laird said that while Peet had has taken responsibility for his physical actions, he has not acknowledged the mental harm he caused, nor has he fully matured.
The sentence was able to be lower than the mandatory minimum due to an exception in the Montana code. However, Judge Laird stated that if Peet is found in violation of his suspended sentence, he will, at a minimum, have to serve those four years in the DOC.
As part of sentencing, the charge of sexual intercourse without consent was dropped, as was requested in the plea agreement.
A Tier 1 Sex Offender designation is the lowest of three tiers in Montana, and means that the offender is believed to have a low risk of repeated offenses.
