As Bigfork resident George Wilcoxen was taken into custody for sexually assaulting a 6-year-old girl, the victim’s grandmother believed justice was not being served.

The 73-year-old man pleaded guilty as an Alford plea, which results in conviction but allows a defendant to maintain their innocence, in front of Judge Heidi Ulbricht in Flathead District Court on Wednesday.

Wilcoxen will complete a 30-day jail sentence as part of a 20-year sentence with the Department of Corrections, with 15 years suspended, including intensive probation. He must register as a Level 1 sex offender, complete a sex offender treatment program, and be accompanied by an appropriately trained adult if he will be around children under the age of 18 at any time during his sentence.

“Today George Wilcoxen was formally sentenced to for the crime of raping my 6-year-old grandchild,” Mayre Flowers said in a written statement. “While I hope that today’s sentencing can allow my family to begin the process of healing from this heinous act, I remain deeply concerned that our communities and our laws in the State of Montana are failing to protect innocent children and families.”

The sexual assault was first reported to the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office on July 22, 2015. According to court documents, the victim was spending the night at Wilcoxen’s home in 2013 when he reportedly took her into his bedroom, held her down and assaulted her. The victim was forensically interviewed at the Flathead County Children’s Advocacy Center.

Wilcoxen originally pleaded not guilty to the sexual assault charge in August 2016. He later pleaded guilty by way of Alford in April 2017, but Ulbricht rejected the binding plea agreement which called for a 10-year sentence with no jail time. Wilcoxen withdrew the guilty alford plea at that time.

Wilcoxen was released on $20,000 bail while the charges were pending. He was not allowed to have any contact with children under age 16 and must avoid all direct or indirect contact with the alleged victim and the victim’s family.

Wilcoxen is well known in Bigfork, where he has been a volunteer for various activities, including playing the role of Santa Claus during the holiday season.

“For far too long, George Wilcoxen has been allowed to masquerade as an upstanding member of the Bigfork community,” Flowers stated. “Wilcoxen abused his position of trust to ruthlessly prey on a young child and it’s the community’s responsibility to ensure this never happens again.”

The victim’s grandmother said the child’s parents agreed to the latest plea agreement to protect their children, and felt compelled to do so because there were no adequate safeguards for child witnesses due to the Montana Supreme Court overturning Marsy’s Law.

“As the victim’s grandmother I was not able to support this deal,” Flowers said.

She also disagrees with the Alford plea.

“While this legal maneuver is equivalent to a guilty plea, it allows the perpetrator to avoid taking full responsibility for his crime and attempt to hide behind a veil of ambiguity,” Flowers said.

Flowers believed Wilcoxen should have been charged with the crime of incest, which requires at least 10 years of imprisonment before an offender can be paroled. Flowers said she will continue to speak up to improve the justice system, and urge the community to step forward to demand stricter laws.

Breeana Laughlin can be reached at 758-4441 or blaughlin@dailyinterlake.com.