Kurt Alme, the Montana Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, has been criticized over a plea deal he made as U.S. attorney that allowed a tribal police officer to serve less than a year in prison after sexually abusing a 6-year-old girl.
According to court documents, Mychal Thomas Damon was indicted on one count of abusive sexual contact with an individual under 12, which carries a maximum punishment of lifetime imprisonment and no less than five years to a lifetime of supervised release. However, Alme's office filed a plea deal in February 2020 that reduced the charge to felony child abuse, raised the alleged age of the victim from below 12 to below 14, and removed language related to sexual intent.
As a result, Damon was sentenced to time served (324 days) and two years of supervised release. He is not listed on the national sex offender registry or in Montana's Sexual or Violent Offender Registry.
Alme's campaign has pushed back against criticism, stating that his office prosecuted every viable sexual abuse felony referred to it and pursued the most serious charge readily provable from the evidence. However, local reporting at the time noted that Damon had admitted to touching the child's genitals with skin-to-skin contact, and a therapist reported that the victim said "Mychal touched me" and hurt her by putting his fingers in her "hoo hoo."
Alme is currently running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who abruptly withdrew from reelection to clear the path for Alme's candidacy.
**Background**
The case has raised questions about Alme's handling of sex abuse cases as U.S. attorney, particularly given that his office declined 64% of sexual assault cases during part of his tenure. In a 2019 interview, Alme acknowledged that this was an area in need of improvement and noted that many cases were declined due to "weak or insufficient evidence."