It took several hours for a Cascade County jury to come to a decision in the case of a Great Falls man accused of sexual assault.
On Friday, Gary Hansen was found guilty of one count of sexual assault.
Hansen was originally charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of obstructing a peace officer.
In 2013, a victim reported to her school counselor that Hansen had sexually abused her.
The Cascade County Sheriff’s Office then began an investigation and executed a search warrant on Hansen’s home in March of 2013. Several items were taken from the home.
Prosecutors said forensic evidence showed DNA, later determined to be Hansen’s, on one item of clothing.
A copy of a warrant was left at Hansen’s home stating he would be charged with sexual assault.
On March 26, a deputy found two people on Hansen’s property and Hansen ran, according to prosecutors.
In October of 2013, he was found in Wyoming where law enforcement chased him for over an hour. The State said he pulled a knife and was then tased and finally arrested.
In 2017, the Montana Supreme Court ruled that Judge Dirk Sandefur illegally accepted a ‘no contest plea’ while overseeing the original 2015 sexual assault case.
A sentencing date has not been set.
