Whitefish man convicted of sexual assault

A Whitefish man has pleaded guilty by way of Alford to three sexual-assault charges.

Wallace Laroy Pulley, who changed his plea Sept. 4, also had been charged with failure to register as a violent offender.

The Alford plea allows Pulley to accept conviction while maintaining his innocence in order to take advantage of a plea agreement.

According to the plea agreement reached with the county, the failure-to-register charge was dropped.

The Flathead County Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence of five years in the Montana State Prison, but Pulley can request to be remanded to the Department of Corrections for five years instead.

Pulley’s sentencing hearing is Oct. 30.

According to court documents, Pulley sexual assaulted a girl from the time she was 12 years old until just before her 18th birthday. Each time he assaulted her, he told her that if she told anyone about the assaults, he would kill her.