Bighawk sentenced for sexual assault, vehicular assault

A Polson man was sentenced in District Court at Polson July 31 to the Montana State Prison for negligent vehicular assault and sexual assault.

Judge Molly Owen sentenced Cheyenne Blue Bighawk, 37, to 10 years with all but 261 days of jail time already served, suspended, on one count of negligent vehicular assault.

Bighawk was also sentenced to 10 years in the Montana State Prison with five years suspended on one of three counts of sexual assault involving a victim under the age of 16. Judge Owen gave Bighawk credit for having already served 245 days in jail in the sex assault case. The sentence was in accordance to a plea agreement reached earlier that dismisses two additional counts of sexual assault.

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, Bighwak touched her inappropriately. During a forensic interview Nov. 30, 2023, “Doe” named three specific occasions when she was allegedly assaulted by Bighawk.

She indicated that on one of the occasions, Bighawk allegedly told her not to tell anyone. When questioned by investigators, Bighawk denied touching the girl, then said he “might have.”

Bighawk was already facing charges stemming from a drunk-driving crash that severely injured a passenger. According to charging documents, on May 18, 2023, law enforcement responded to a report of a vehicle on its top in a creek on North Foothills Road. Bighawk admitted to the responding officer to being the driver.

Another emergency responder was assisting the injured passenger, who kept drifting in and out of consciousness. The injured passenger was transported to St. Luke Hospital in Ronan, where it was determined she had suffered a fractured vertebrae. She was then transported to St. Patrick’s Hospital in Missoula.

The officers who responded to the accident scene described Bighawk as loud, belligerent and aggressive. They also said he kept getting in the way of officers helping the injured passenger. Bighawk later admitted to consuming a fifth of Crown Royal a half hour prior to the accident.

Judge Owen ordered Bighawk to complete that state’s sex offender treatment program before being eligible for parole.