James Douglas Guill, 54, faces six counts: two felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of incest, one count of felony sexual assault and a count of misdemeanor sexual assault. His common-law wife, 36-year-old Nicole Christensen Guill, is charged with one count of sexual intercourse without consent, two counts of felony sexual assault and one count of misdemeanor sexual assault.
The two are being held on
The cases will be moved to Sanders County District Court later this week, and County Attorney Bob Zimmerman said Monday more charges will be filed at that time. He would not detail those charges, but they reportedly involve a second victim.
The affidavit filed in support of the charges sets out a life dictated by sex, religion, brainwashing and seclusion.
The case broke open after the female victim, who is now 22, escaped from a life spent mostly at home under the oppressive influence of James Guill, court records state. The young woman's mother, Candice Guill - who remained on the family property for years while James lived with Nicole - helped her to escape.
Candice Guill is not charged in the case, and was, according to Zimmerman's probable-cause affidavit outlining the case, forced to sign a letter stating that James Guill had never “abused or molested or had sex” with the victim.
That coerced letter runs entirely contrary to the story the victim told a mental health professional and investigators after she left the family's Heron home.
The woman said James Guill first molested her when she was 6 years old, touching her privately nearly every day for about two years.
“(She) said the assaults would take place while her mother, Candice Guill, was sleeping or when no one else was present,” Zimmerman wrote.
The woman said the molestation progressed to sexual intercourse about the time she turned 8, and continued unabated for years, court records state. During that period, Nicole Christensen moved into the house, while Candice Guill moved to another building on the same property.
James Guill told his children to address Nicole as “mom,” and the woman eventually adopted the name Guill, although court records state the couple never married. Nicole Guill, Zimmerman alleges, would often watch when James Guill had sex with the girl.
“Then when (the victim) turned 14 years old, James started involving Nicole Christensen in sexual acts,” Zimmerman wrote.
Guill had the girl and Nicole engage in sexual conduct, then would “become excited and have sexual intercourse with both of them,” Zimmerman wrote.
Again, the girl said, the conduct took place nearly every day for the next three years, records state. Guill made the girl take birth control pills starting at about 16, then started molesting her less frequently after she turned 17 because he was becoming increasingly concerned that he might be caught, Zimmerman wrote.
Even so, the behavior allegedly continued until several months ago, when the young woman left the home on Sept. 11, documents claim.
The woman told a sheriff's deputy that she didn't leave earlier because she was kept isolated at the home, only leaving with Guill or her mother. She then told a tale of utter isolation.
She said she'd never been to school and had very little knowledge of the outside world. When a deputy asked her about whether James Guill had any pornographic books in the home, she said she didn't know what pornography was.
The woman said she and her brother studied out of books James Guill provided until the eighth-grade level, then were restricted to reading only the Bible. Guill then interpreted the Bible for the children, she said.
“(She) told the deputy that Š James Guill said he was God and that he decided who would go to heaven and who would go to hell,” Zimmerman wrote. “James Guill told (her) that if she ever told anyone what they were doing that she would go to hell. She said that James Guill taught her that God told him to do this to her and if it was wrong that God would forgive him.”
According to court documents, Guill bought all the girl's clothing until she was 15, then encouraged her to buy sexy clothes to wear at home.
The mental health counselor who spoke with the woman described her as “emotionally delayed across all life domains,” Zimmerman wrote. The counselor said the woman suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and is clinically depressed.
“Her report further states that ‘Š it appears her alleged abuser threatened her numerous times and led her to believe from a small child that he was God's chosen and had the right to use her as he saw fit,' ” Zimmerman wrote.
Both James Guill and Nicole Christensen Guill are being held on $1 million bail. They declined public defenders at court hearings last week, but it wasn't clear on Monday whether they have hired private attorneys.
Because the Guills are in jail, they could not be reached for comment by the Missoulian.
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