Strommen Trial Delayed

The rape trial of disgraced ex-Valley County Undersheriff Luke Strommen has been delayed after the judge in the case granted the defense a continuance for an unknown period of time. The trial had been set to start on March 9, but was canceled at the last minute leaving the dozens called out for jury duty reeling to reschedule their days and, in some cases, get back to work.

It was unclear at press time what justified the last minute continuance. The trial had been set after a November trial was vacated as Strommen pleaded guilty to one of two charges he faced at that time. The charge he pled guilty to was sexual abuse of a child, which is a felony in the State of Montana, and was related to a separate incident and victim than those involved in the now delayed trial.

In the current case, Strommen is accused of sexual intercourse without consent, for raping a 14-year-old girl in the late 2000s. According to charging documents, Strommen is accused of molesting and raping the girl dozens of time over the course of years—all before she was 16 years old.

The victim, who is now an adult, is said to have come forward after an investigation revealed Strommen had been having an affair with a 17-year-old girl while serving as a deputy with the Valley County Sheriff’s Office over five years ago. During that affair he received a partially-nude image of the girl when she was 17 years old, which sparked the guilty plea in November. The public charges associated with the plea spurred the rape victim to come forward in 2018.

Strommen was charged with sexual intercourse without consent in late 2018 and has been awaiting trial ever since. A new trial date was not available to the Courier at press time.