BOZEMAN — A Gallatin Gateway man was arrested on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024 after allegedly having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl.
Christian Tyler King, 28, appeared in Gallatin County Justice Court on Tuesday where he was arraigned on a charge of sexual intercourse without consent. The age of consent in Montana is 16 years old.
According to court documents, a woman contacted Gallatin County Dispatch around 12:25 a.m. on Saturday to report she caught her 14-year-old daughter and King “in the act” at their residence.
The victim’s mother met deputies with the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office at the residence; court documents say King also lived on the property in an area converted to communal housing for construction workers.
As the victim’s mother brought deputies to the bedroom where she said she found King and her daughter, King allegedly exited the room and identified himself to law enforcement. According to court documents, King said “all this for five minutes of fun” as deputies were confirming his identity.
Court documents say at the scene, the victim told law enforcement that her parents believed King was going to take her to school earlier that day. She allegedly skipped school instead and spent the day with King, returning home around 6 p.m., which upset her parents as she was out past 5 p.m.
The victim allegedly told law enforcement that she later went to King’s room where they had sex and were eventually discovered by the victim’s mother. Court documents say the victim also told deputies she had sex with King on four separate occasions.
The victim’s mother reportedly told deputies her daughter believed she was in a dating relationship with King.
King was transported to the Law and Justice Center in Bozeman where detectives conducted a mirandized interview with him. According to court documents, King said he had given the victim rides to school on two occasions but denied sexual contact.
Detectives reportedly noted bruise-like marks on King’s neck and shoulders that he referred to as hickeys. Court documents say he claimed to have gotten them while kissing a woman at a bar, but he could not provide concrete details about when, where, or with whom it occurred.
In court on Tuesday, King’s bail was set at $7,500 with GPS monitoring as a condition of release. He is to have no contact with the victim.
King’s next court date is set for Feb. 2, 2024.
