Sentencing delayed for man accused of affair with minor

Sentencing for a man accused of engaging in an affair with a minor was rescheduled in Lake County District Court last week, as Judge Deborah K. Christopher noted inconsistencies in the latest statements from the alleged victim and defendant.

Nathaniel James Rogers, 22, pleaded no contest in September to felony criminal endangerment as part of an agreement that he would receive a two-year deferred sentence.

Rogers is accused of carrying on a months-long affair with a girl he knew to be 14 years old.

When it came time for sentencing, however, Judge Christopher said she was concerned about statements that were given during a pre-sentence evaluation. Christopher said that Rogers appeared in the evaluation report to still adamantly deny the charges, and that the no contest plea, where a defendant neither admits nor denies allegations, might not be appropriate.

She noted that the alleged victim’s statement also appeared to contradict previous reports.

“If (Rogers) did it that’s a problem,” Christopher said. “If he did not, that’s also a problem.”

Rogers’ attorney Britt Cotter said that after speaking with family members of the alleged victim, they agreed that the plea deal was the best option.

“We always felt that if the case went to trial we could win,” he said. “But we didn’t want to do that.”

Christopher said she was willing to accept the plea deal, however the recent revelations are cause for concern. Christopher said such cases must be treated carefully as they have increasingly come into the public spotlight.

“You guys know, especially because of the election, how serious people take victim’s rights,” she said, referring to Montana’s recent passage of Initiative 116, also knows as Marsy’s Law, which will add language to the state constitution aimed at protecting the rights of crime victims.

Christopher continued the sentencing until Dec. 15.