County drops assault charges against Farr

The Flathead County Attor-ney's Office announced July 20 that it will not retry David Farr on four sexual assault charges.

A month ago, a jury of nine men and four women said it was unable to reach a verdict on four of five counts of sexual assault involving five boys who were 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 years old in 2005 when they attended Montessori Children's House, in Whitefish.

Farr, 38, who worked at the school at the time the alleged assaults occurred, was found not guilty on one of five counts. The jury was deadlocked on the remaining four charges.

In court documents filed last week, deputy county attorney Dan Guzynski said he spoke to the jurors after the trial and concluded a second trial could also end with a hung jury.

Guzynski concluded that the state's case against the defendant was "extremely persuasive to some members of the jury panel," but at least three of the jurors "were equally strong in their belief that the state did not prove the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt."

The county attorney's office also spoke with members of the alleged victims' families and evaluated evidence that could be used against Farr.

"The state continues to be absolutely convinced that the defendant committed these acts against these five children; however, based on the current evidence that the state has available, the state has decided not to retry the case at this time," Guzynski said.

The county attorney's office dismissed the remaining charges against Farr without prejudice.