Larry Kline
Havre Daily News
lkline@havredailynews.com
A Havre man has been sentenced to 28 years in state prison on eight felony charges of sexual intercourse without consent and incest.
District Court Judge David Rice sentenced John D. Armstrong, 40, on Monday to 60 years in prison with 32 years suspended.
Armstrong dialed 911 on Oct. 14, 2004, and said he wanted to turn himself in. In an interview with Havre police, Armstrong called himself a “monster” and said he was turning himself in to avoid destroying his family, a court document said.
Armstrong pleaded guilty the charges on April 22. He did not enter into a plea agreement.
The incidents occurred between 1997 and 2000, when the victim was under the age of 16, the court document said.
Armstrong had been investigated by Havre police in 1997 for an incident involving the same victim. Police dropped the investigation after the victim's story changed, the court document said.
Rice sentenced Armstrong to 15 years, with eight suspended, on each of the eight charges. The sentence for each charge of sexual intercourse without consent will run concurrently with the sentence for each incest charge.
Rice ordered that Johnson be designated a Level II sexual offender, which means he has a moderate risk of becoming a repeat offender. Upon release, Armstrong must register as a sexual offender.
Once he is released from prison, he is not to contact the victim or victim's family by any means without approval, and is to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 21. He is not to frequent places where children congregate.
Each charge carries a minimum sentence of four years and a maximum of 100 years.
Armstrong received credit for 369 days served in county jail. He is still being held in the Hill County Detention Center.
