Man sentenced to at least 25 years of prison time for lewd conduct, incest
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POCATELLO – A man who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting one of his family members has received a prison sentence in Bannock County District Court.
A sentencing hearing was held Thursday afternoon for Bill Montgomery Green, 20, who sexually assaulted one of his family members in 2023. While his attorney made an argument for a retained jurisdiction program, Judge Javier Gabiola decided that Green would be a danger to society and gave him at least 25 years in prison for his crimes.
“I firmly believe if I placed you on probation, you would commit other heinous crimes, inclusive of the two you’ve admitted to here,” Gabiola said.
Green accepted a plea agreement on Aug. 27, pleading guilty to Lewd Conduct with a Minor Under 16 and Incest Under 18, with the state dropping two counts of rape and another count of incest.
At his sentencing hearing, Gabiola gave him two 50-year sentences, with 25 years being mandatory, and they’ll both run concurrently.
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The victim was not present at Green’s sentencing hearing.
“She has elected not to appear today,” explained Prosecutor Ian Johnson. “We corresponded with her from our office. In the past, there’s been some reluctance being the in the presence of the defendant, so we haven’t heard anything from her. So she’s not present to make an impact statement.”
Green’s attorney, Sean Wynn, started by acknowledging that Green was rated at a high-risk to reoffend on his psychosexual evaluation.
“That being said, this is the only offense that is anything close to a sexual nature. All of his other charges were mostly misdemeanors when he was a juvenile, but nothing really even of a violent nature,” Wynn said.
Wynn later added, “We’re talking about somebody who hasn’t engaged in this sort of behavior at any time in his history.”
Wynn argued that Green was acting outside of his normal character, and that he would benefit from treatment under a retained jurisdiction, or “rider” program, which is where the judge sentences a defendant to prison, but maintains power over their case while they complete treatment. If successful, the defendant can be placed on probation.
Green denied the opportunity to make a statement for the court.
Johnson pointed out that the evaluation found him to have maladaptive coping skills, and has a behavioral pattern indicating antisocial behavior. He told the court that despite Green admitting to his actions, he has not taken responsibility for them.
“They described, as he said, ‘it was a mistake. I was confused.’ This is ludicrous commentary by someone who, in that same interview says, ‘Oh, I remembered her from when I was five,’” Johnson said.
Johnson continued, “I think that there is an extensive history of problematic behavior, a lack of regulation of his own drives and behavior. And then if you add the fact that reading the (evaluation) he doesn’t even take responsibility for his own actions.”
Gabiola also referenced the evaluation, specifically pointing to a section where Green stated that he didn’t think he needed to be treated as a sexual offender.
“It’s problematic for this court that you don’t think you need treatment,” Gabiola said. “But Mr. Green, your conduct with (the vicitm), who was 14, was heinous.”
The prosecution recommended 10 years fixed and 10 years indeterminate, but Gabiola did not consider this an adequate sentence.
“Those sentences are based on your actions, your decisions, the protection of society, the nature of those crimes. I find that a lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of the offense,” Gabiola said.