Strommen Reaches Agreement On Rape Charges
Former Valley County Undersheriff Luke Strommen has reached a plea agreement with the State of Montana. After admitting guilt, Strommen will be eligible for significantly reduced sentencing at an April 11 hearing.
Strommen was charged with sexual intercourse without consent in December of 2018. He was found guilty after 2020 a jury trial determined he had initiated a non-consensual sexual relationship with the victim when she was 14 years old.
Strommen was found to have continued the relationship for several years while he was employed by the Sheriff’s Office.
In a December 2020 ruling, Judge John Larson sentenced Strommen to 40 years in the State Prison and ordered that he wouldn’t be eligible for parole for 10 years. Strommen’s attorneys appealed the conviction to the Montana Supreme Court in February 2021 and he was found guilty of sexual intercourse without consent.
The Supreme Court ordered a new trial in April of 2024 after an appeal by Strommen, with the result that the Supreme Court reversed the conviction in a 4-2 decision and remanded the case for a new trial.
At the time of the reversal, Strommen was serving time in State Prison and he was released from custody.
In February, the State and Strommen reached a plea agreement in which Strommen pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual intercourse without consent. He also admitted that at the time of the offense, the victim was less than 16 years old and he was three or more years older. The offenses took place between Sept. 1, 2009 and Jan. 9, 2011.
The plea agreement states that the recommended sentence for Strommen be imprisonment of 10 years, with the balance suspended except three years and 315 days, which Strommen has already served. The agreement includes stipulations that Strommen be subject to conditions of probation, which shall include in part that he registers as a sexual offender. Judge Jennifer Lint will preside over a sentencing hearing on April 11.
