Billings man convicted of raping young child

Jun. 1—A Yellowstone County jury convicted a Billings man Thursday of raping a child in 2020.

The guilty verdict for Gary Richard Jones, 32, followed testimony in Yellowstone County District Court from the now 7-year-old girl, who survived his abuse, along with testimony from her family.

In his closing statement to the jury, Yellowstone County Attorney John Ryan said the girl's grandparents were heroes for alerting the police and separating the girl from Jones as soon as they learned what he did to her.

In August 2021, the Billings Police Department launched an investigation into a report of child sex abuse at a Billings home. A BPD officer met with the then 5-year-old girl's mother and grandparents. The girl had told her grandmother that Jones sexually abused her, prompting her grandmother to call her mother and then the police. In a later interview at the Yellowstone County Children's Advocacy Center, the girl recounted the abuse in graphic detail.

County prosecutors charged Jones with one count of sexual intercourse without consent in April 2022, and he was booked into Yellowstone County Detention Facility. After pleading not guilty to the charge, Jones was released from custody on a $150,000 bond.

Jones's trial began Tuesday, with the jury hearing closing argument Thursday morning. Before leaving to deliberate, the jury watched a video recording of the girl, taken by her grandmother, in which she said again and again that Jones raped her.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a non-profit dedicated to preventing sexual assault and assisting survivors, reported that from 2009 through 2013, about 63,000 children a year were victims of sexual abuse. While the victims of rape in the U.S. include all genders, young girls are particularly vulnerable, making up 82% of juvenile victims. The vast majority of perpetrators of child sex abuse are known to the victim, according to data collected by RAINN, either as family members or acquaintances.

The jury deliberated for about four hours before reaching their verdict Thursday afternoon. After the verdict was announced, Yellowstone County District Judge Donald L. Harris ordered that Jones be taken back into custody until his sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled. Jones faces up to life in prison.

RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline, which can connect survivors to confidential support and referrals, with dozens of programs for survivors available in Montana.

The Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has a directory for victim services in the state at mcadsv.com/victim-service-programs-by-region/.

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