Man pleads not guilty to sexual assault

A Polson man, who is already facing a trial March 11 on one count of negligent vehicular assault, faces more legal issues.

Cheyenne Ambrose Bighawk, 37, entered a plea of not guilty in Polson District Court Dec. 13 to three felony counts of sexual assault involving a victim less than 16 years of age.

According to court records, a “Jane Doe” born in 2014 indicated to authorities that on at least three occasions, beginning when she was 8 years old, Bighawk touched her inappropriately. During a forensic interview Nov. 30, “Doe” named three specific instances when she was allegedly assaulted by Bighawk, and indicated that on one of the occasions, he allegedly told her not to tell anyone. When questioned by investigators, Bighawk denied touching the girl, then said he “might have.”

Bighawk is already accused of being intoxicated when, on May 18, he lost control of the vehicle he was driving, which ended up on its roof on N. Foothills Road. His passenger suffered a broken vertebra.

Judge Molly Owen set a trial date for the sexual assault case for June 3. Bighawk is being held in the Lake County Jail with bond totaling $45,000.