Polson sex offender appeals Montana Supreme Court
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HELENA — A Polson man serving 200 years in prison for incest and sexual abuse of children has appealed his case to the Montana Supreme Court.
In a May 16 appeal, public defenders asked the high court for access to records compiled by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services about two victims of Brian Johnston.
Johnston’s legal counsel argued that a Lake County judge should have conducted an in camera review of the documents during the original legal proceedings against him in 2012. In camera reviews are done by the judge in a private setting, away from the public, so that a ruling can be made about whether or not information should be entered into a court’s record.
The district court denied a request by Johnston’s attorney to conduct an in camera review for his original case. On Dec. 12, 2012 Johnston received four 100-year sentences for two counts of felony incest, one count of solicitation, and one count of sexual abuse of children. Two of the sentences run concurrently. Johnston, 40, is ineligible for parole until he is 88 years old.
Johnston was previously convicted in 2001 for not registering as a sex offender. In 2007 he unsuccessfully appealed the Montana Supreme Court in regard to conviction on drug-related charges.
According to court documents abuse of the children began approximately one year after he was released from prison.
