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Great Falls man charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl

Great Falls man charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl
Posted at 11:00 PM, Apr 15, 2020
and last updated 2020-04-16 01:00:59-04

Gregory Craig Carpenter has been charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year old girl in Great Falls.

Court documents state the child told police that she went to Carpenter's residence to to get some cooking ingredients. While there, she helped him open several cans of cat food for his cats. She said that at the kitchen table, Carpenter started to rub her leg/thigh area and then reached up further and rubbed her private parts on the outside of her pants while she was sitting at the kitchen table. She became nervous and upset and asked to leave, which Greg allowed. On the way out to the door, she said that he kissed her on the lips, and told her it was a "kiss from God" and not to tell anyone. The child then ran home.

Police took Carpenter to the Great Falls Police Department; after being read his rights, Carpenter agreed to speak without an attorney present. During an interview, he confirmed that the girl was at his residence that day. He said that he never kissed her on the Iips but instead gave her what he called a "holy kiss." Carpenter said that a "holy kiss" was "a Christian greeting" or "a greeting like an officer would give to someone." He would not exactly define what a "holy kiss" was, saying it could range from a pat on the back, to a hug, to a hand shake, or even a kiss on the head like the Pope does to children.

Carpenter denied that he touched her vagina, but said say, "She did have an odd look on her face when she left my place, and got back on her bike."

Court documents state that Carpenter has a criminal history dating back to the 1970's. He has convictions for burglary in Missoula County; sexual intercourse without consent in Cascade County; and escape in Powell County. He is currently on federal supervision for making/possessing/attempting to destroy with an explosive device. In 2001, he placed a bomb in the ceiling above the warden's desk at Montana State Prison. He was in federal prison between 1997 and February 2019. He has been convicted of escape three times, on one occasion being apprehended in Arizona after escaping Montana State Prison.