Man denies child sex charges

A man accused of having sexual encounters with underage girls pleaded not guilty to the accusations Tuesday in state District Court in Havre.

Emmett L. Windyboy, born in 1993, is charged with four felony counts of sexual abuse of children.

Public defender Karen Alley, who stood in for Windyboy's lawyers, Travis Cushman and Betty Carlson out of the Great Falls office of public defender, asked state District Judge Daniel Boucher to release Windyboy on his own recognizance. If released, Windyboy would work - "he's employed" - and stay with his wife in Havre, Alley said.

Deputy Hill County Attorney Carolyn Gray opposed Windyboy's release, saying he has "numerous serious offenses."

Boucher denied Windyboy's request.

The investigation into Windyboy began in October 2015, after a mother reported that her daughter was missing, and ultimately triggered an investigation that led to Windyboy's Facebook account.

Charging documents say 11 sexually explicit conversations between Windyboy and girls younger than 18 indicated an "inappropriate relationship or incident existed between Emmett and said person."

Of those 11 sexually explicit conversations with girls under 18, seven of the girls were confirmed to be younger than 16, documents say.

During an interview with officers, Windyboy admitted to getting high on methamphetamine and sending the messages. He said he had sex with a girl who "was 17 or 18 at the time" but said he wasn't sure what happened between him and a specific 14-year-old girl because he blacked out, files say.

When the 14-year-old girl was interviewed by an officer, she described a sexual encounter she had with Windyboy, the documents say.

Windyboy was listed on the  jail roster this morning being held on a $25,000 bond.