A Polson High School student, accused of raping a 14-year-old girl, entered a plea of not guilty in District Court in Polson March 12 to sexual intercourse without consent.

According to court records, on Jan. 8, a deputy with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and School Resource Officer was contacted by the 14-year-old student, about a male student. The alleged victim claimed that in November 2025, he grabbed her by the waist and drug her into his car, threw her in the back seat and raped her.

She said she came forward about the incident because he was being inappropriate with other girls and sending other girls inappropriate messages. The girl was interviewed at First Step in Missoula.

According to court records, the alleged victim said she had been communicating via Snapchat with the accused in early November and asked him to bring her food. When he arrived at her house, she met him in the driveway.

He allegedly grabbed her arm and the girl said to him, “don’t even think about it.” She said he grabbed her and dragged her toward his car, threw in the back seat and raped her.

The court documents indicate other girls received inappropriate messages and that the suspect solicited images from them, including girls in Bozeman where the alleged perpetrator once attended school.

Judge John A. Mercer set the case for trial on Aug. 10. A request for an own recognizance release was denied, however the judge lowered bond from $100,000 to $50,000.

Bond has since been posted, and the judge ordered that the suspect have no direct, indirect or third-party contact with the victim, or anyone under the age of 16, and not frequent locations used primarily by minors. He was also ordered to wear a GPS monitoring device.

Because the suspect was 17 at the time of the alleged incident, a transfer hearing – tentatively set for March 26 – will be held to determine if the case should stay in adult court, or be moved to youth court.