Bigfork man, 47, accused of assault on two young girls

The Daily Inter Lake

A Bigfork man accused of sexually assaulting two young girls and failing to register as a sex offender will stay in jail, after his request for a bond reduction was denied Thursday.

Ralph Fox, 47, has been held in the Flathead County Detention Center on $125,000 bail since his Jan. 5 arrest on charges that he assaulted two sisters, ages 6 and 8.

Fox also did not register as a sex offender when he moved to Montana. He was required to do so after being convicted in 1984 of lewd and lascivious acts with children in Redding, Calif.

His attorney, Carolyn Gill, argued that Fox is indigent and has no chance of posting bond. Because his wife, whom Gill described as his legal guardian, lives here, his attorney said he would pose no flight risk if released on his own recognizance.

Fox has lived here 11 years, Gill said, and would return from jail to share a home with his wife on Ferndale Drive. It's a drug-free and alcohol-free residence, Gill said, where six adults live and where he would be under court orders not to leave. With the two young victims living in another town in the Flathead Valley, she said Fox would pose no threat to them or other children.

District Judge Stewart Stadler wasn't buying it.

"Not for a minute do I think an O/R [own recognizance] release is appropriate," Stadler said, citing several counter-arguments that came out in testimony from Flathead County sheriff's detective Sgt. Glen Fulton.

Fulton led the county's investigation into Fox's case.

In questioning by Deputy County Attorney Katie Schulz, Fulton confirmed Fox's 1984 conviction in California for lewd and lascivious acts with a 7-year-old girl. He said Fox did not plead guilty immediately, but later confessed. He said Fox also tampered with a witness when he tried to prevent the mother from testifying.

Later, Fulton said, he violated terms of his parole and had it revoked twice. His violations included fleeing the state, Fulton said.

When arrested for the assaults in the Flathead, Fulton said Fox was using a duplicate of his brother's California driver's license with his own photograph on it. Fulton said Fox also is wanted for outstanding warrants in Oregon and Colorado.

On Gill's cross-examination, Fulton said the first contact the Flathead County Sheriff's Office had with Fox was in 1997.

During the investigation into the current charges, Fulton said he talked with others besides the victims and the mother, and said none of them wants to see Fox released on bond.

But Gill told Stadler that the court must assume that Fox, if released, would follow orders to stay at his residence - and therefore would pose no danger.

Schulz said facts point to the opposite conclusion.

Because he did not register as a sex offender, changed his identity, and has no community ties and no job, Schulz contended Fox "is very likely to flee."

After Stadler denied release, Fox was returned to jail.