By Josh Margolis
HAVRE, Mont. (NMB) – A Hill County man that admitted to raping a minor has been sentenced to 30 years in the Montana State Prison system, with 10 suspended.
Kristopher Alan Chapman, born in 1986, was sentenced Wednesday afternoon by Judge Kaydee Snipes-Ruiz in Hill County District Court after previously pleading guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent.
Chapman is ineligible for parole during the first 15 years of the sentence. He must register as a Level 2 sexual offender and complete all three phases of sex offender treatment before being released, and is ordered to pay $20,793.44 in restitution.
Chapman will be credited with 260 days already served in the Hill County Detention Center.
In her judgement, Snipes-Ruiz cited Chapman’s risk of recidivism, “well above expected of a typical adult male,” his, “deviant sexual practices,” and violation of probation for a previous felony assault with a weapon conviction.
Snipes-Ruiz also noted a disciplinary report from the Detention Center where Chapman was found to be in possession of newspaper clippings of juvenile women with lewd depictions Chapman had drawn on them.
Snipes-Ruiz said Chapman has shown no remorse for his actions, could be a safety and security risk to the community, and has caused the victim and her family significant harm.
During the suspended portion of his sentence, Chapman is subject to dozens of conditions, including not being allowed to access the internet without permission, not being allowed to possess weapons, not being allowed to use alcohol or drugs, and not being allowed to interact with minors without prior permission and a responsible adult present that is aware of his conviction. Chapman is also not allowed to contact the victim or her family unless it is initiated through the Department of Corrections.
As pursuant to the plea agreement, the other 30 charges in the case were dismissed. They included five additional counts of sexual intercourse without consent, 24 counts of sexual abuse of children, and one count of indecent exposure.
The State called several witnesses during the sentencing hearing and introduced a handful of pieces of evidence.
Included in the evidence was photographs of Chapman and the victim together and a hand-drawn marriage certificate dated from November 2019 that said at the bottom, “if you don’t believe this is real, go f*&$ yourself.”
The first witness was Havre Patrol Officer Rachel Cotton, who investigated the case. Cotton served a search warrant on Chapman’s phone and found explicit images and videos of Chapman with the then-13-year-old female victim. Some of the videos were of them engaging in sexual intercourse. Cotton said Chapman was well aware of the victim’s age.
Another witness called was the victim’s mother. The mother said her entire family has been, “devastated,” and that the victim no longer trusts others and has had to go through psychiatric care.
The Defense did not introduce any evidence and did not call any witnesses.
Chapman was given the opportunity to speak prior to the sentence being handed down, but declined to do so.
Earlier on Wednesday, Chapman had his suspended sentence for the 2015 felony assault with a weapon conviction revoked by Judge David Cybulski and was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections, with 15 suspended. That sentence will run concurrently with any other sentences.
