FLATHEAD COUNTY — A Flathead County District Court judge sentenced Jesse Rolen Curtis to Montana State Prison on April 30, 2025, after he entered an Alford plea in a rape case involving a teenage girl. Curtis, 44, of Columbia Falls, was on probation for a second-degree murder conviction from Hennepin County, Minnesota, when he was accused of sexually assaulting the girl between July and August 2024.
Authorities began investigating Curtis after rape allegations were reported to the Montana Child Abuse hotline in September 2024. According to court documents, the victim said the rape occurred while she was visiting her grandfather and step-grandmother in the Flathead Valley during summer 2024. She stated she met Curtis, who is the son of her step-grandmother, during that visit and that he raped her at least three times that she was aware of.
Curtis pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent at his arraignment on January 16, 2025. In March 2025, he entered an Alford plea, maintaining his innocence while acknowledging that a jury would likely find him guilty. Prosecutors recommended that Curtis serve 20 years in Montana State Prison with 14 years suspended as part of the plea deal.
Judge Danni Coffman sentenced Curtis on April 30, 2025, ordering the Montana sentence to run concurrent with his Minnesota second-degree murder sentence. Coffman also designated Curtis a level two sex offender. Curtis received credit for 506 days of time served and has since been transferred to Montana State Prison.
Court records show Curtis was convicted of second-degree murder in Hennepin County, Minnesota, in 2004. He was convicted of kidnapping in 2002, assault in 2016, and drug possession and other drug-related crimes in 1999.