Helena man charged with repeatedly raping a minor

May 13—A 42-year-old Helena man was arrested on suspicion of raping a minor multiple times over the course of a year.

Richard Allen Graves is charged with four felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent.

On May 4, law enforcement received information regarding the potential sexual abuse of a young girl several times within Helena's city limits. Officers learned that the incidents had allegedly been ongoing for about a year.

During an interview, the victim reported that Graves had touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions. She also reported that Graves had raped her or forced her to perform sexual acts on him several times.

Court documents state that multiple individuals corroborated the victim's statements, and text messages that seemed to confirm her statements were found.

Graves denied all of the sexual touching in an interview with law enforcement. He did corroborate several statements made by the victim, but said there was no sexual contact.

A criminal history check listed no prior arrests or convictions for sexual assault.

All charged are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

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