A Libby man accused of rape appeared in Lincoln County District Court Monday and pleaded not guilty.

Dawson Cade Nance, 27, is being held in the county detention center on $250,000 bail after being charged with one felony count of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent.

Ben Kolter is defending Nance while deputy county attorney Lauren O’Neill is prosecuting the case. Daniel Woods stood in for Kolter during Monday's arraignment.

If Nance is released, he must be fitted with a GPS ankle device within 24 hours.

According to the charging document, Libby police officer Tim Steffenson was advised June 23 of a sexual assault that allegedly occurred the previous night or in the early morning hours of the same day.

He spoke to the caller, a friend of the alleged victim, who said she wanted to file a report. They were planning to travel to the Boundary County Community Hospital in Bonner’s Ferry, Idaho, for the alleged victim to have a sexual assault exam. 

Ofc. Steffenson spoke to the two women before their trip to Idaho. The alleged victim said she invited Nance, a man she knew for many years, to her home for a fire on the evening of June 22. She said she and Nance had a few drinks while they talked. She thought he may have had a few drinks before he arrived, but she wasn’t sure.

She also said Nance told her he had no intention of leaving. After the fire burned out, the accused and the woman went into her residence. She went into her bedroom and he followed. She said he asked her to take her shirt off, but she said she was not interested.

According to the court filing, Nance allegedly grabbed the woman and forced her to unbutton his shirt. She said he pushed her into her bed and forcefully removed her pants and underwear. He then allegedly removed his clothes, got into bed with the woman, and she repeated she didn’t want to have sex.

After kissing her multiple times, he allegedly raped her. She said she cried and asked him to stop multiple times because of the pain he was causing. 

He later fell asleep and the woman also went to sleep. She awoke at about 6 a.m. and told him to leave because she needed to leave for work and has two children. Before he left, Nance allegedly asked her if he could return. She said she wasn’t sure and told Steffenson she didn’t want to anger him. 

The officer saw bruises on her left and right shoulders, both legs and her neck. The alleged victim said she didn’t want to participate in sex with Nance and said she cried loudly and told him to stop. She also said he smacked her buttocks and said, “You’re not done yet.”

A few days later, ofc. Steffenson interviewed the alleged victim at the county sheriff’s office. She said she was texting with Nance when he asked her to go for a drive. She declined, but later he arrived at her residence to chat and hang out around the fire. 

She said he had a six-pack of beer and small cans of Mad Dog “fruity drinks.” She said it was the first time they had seen each other in four 

years. He allegedly grabbed her sweatshirt and tried to her kiss her. She told him she wasn’t interested in a relationship or having sex with him. After they went inside the residence, she said he drank two more cans of beer. 

She told him she was going to bed because she had to go to work in the morning. She said she told him he could sleep on the couch or leave. She thought he would leave.

After she went into her bedroom, he followed. She felt scared after he allegedly grabbed her and told her to take his shirt off. She said she remained calm because she didn’t want her children to overhear or to get involved. She unbuttoned his shirt because she didn’t want him to get angry.

The alleged victim said he forced her to perform oral sex on him, then he forced her to get on top of him. She told Nance multiple times she was in pain and begged him to stop. 

According to the charging document, Nance told her she wasn’t done yet and asked her why she was upset.

She also told Steffenson that Nance texted her twice on the evening of Wednesday, June 24, before their second interview on June 25. One message allegedly read, “I’m sorry” and the second read, “Im truly sorry.”

The officer gave her a form for victims of violent crimes and said she could work to get an order of protection. The alleged victim gave Steffenson a copy of the tracking information for the sexual assault exam kit, which was obtained by a county deputy from Boundary County. Steffenson said he would mail the kit to the Montana State Crime lab for more testing.

When Steffenson called Nance the next day. He allegedly denied hanging out with the woman on the night of June 22 and said it had been quite a while since he was in contact with her. He also denied going to her residence and said, “This was completely out of the blue.”