C-Falls man sentenced to 15 years for child pornography
A 46-year-old Columbia Falls man was sentenced to 15 years with the Montana Department of Corrections with 10 suspended after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of sexual abuse of children.
Flathead County District Court Judge Heidi Ulbricht sentenced Lewis Packwood on Feb. 25, a year after a plea agreement was reached. She gave him credit for time served and ordered him to pay $500 in fines and $400 in public defenders fees. He was remanded to the sheriff’s office.
Packwood initially faced two felony charges of sexual abuse of children, with one carrying a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison for possessing computer images of a girl who was 12 years old or under.
According to court records, a Flathead County sheriff’s deputy was contacted by Packwood’s then-wife in July 2011 about possible child pornography that she found on her husband’s thumb drive. She said she sent a text message to Packwood about the images, and he responded that he knew it was wrong and thought he had deleted the images.
When interviewed by sheriff’s detectives about three months later, Packwood admitted having images of young females engaged in sexual activity on his thumb drive. He also admitted to seeing a counselor about having a sexual attraction to a girl who was 12.
In a motion to dismiss filed Jan. 15, 2014, Packwood’s’ defense attorney, Lane Bennett, asked for evidence that the girls in the computer images were under 18 years old. Bennett also noted that the words “partial undress” was not defined by state statutes and was vague.
In response, Flathead County deputy attorney Stacy Boman referred to Packwood’s initial statements in which he allegedly admitted to being aroused by the young girls and knowing it was wrong.
The images included a photo of a 12-year-old girl wearing only a T-shirt and underwear as she slept. During a change of plea hearing on March 5, 2014, Packwood admitted to photographing the girl for the purpose of sexual gratification or arousal and admitted he was sexually attracted to the girl.
In a plea deal reached Feb. 26, 2014, the charge was amended to a single felony count of sexual abuse of children with a maximum of 100 years but no minimum. The county attorney’s office recommended 15 years in prison with 10 suspended, full restitution and a sexual evaluation.
Fourteen people wrote letters in Packwood’s support, including a woman who married him in February 2014 after Packwood was divorced.
His new wife blamed Packwood’s ex-wife. She also said they now lived in a remote rural area where Packwood would not get into trouble.
Several others blamed Packwood’s ex-wife in their letters of support, and several said they knew Packwood from his involvement in the local Society for Creative Anachronism.