Man sentenced in 2019 Missoula rape case

A man convicted in a 2019 Missoula rape case was sentenced last week to 20 years in the Montana State Prison, according to court filings. 

Richard S. Purcell was found guilty of one felony count of sexual intercourse without consent charge on Oct. 19, 2022, by a Missoula jury. On March 8, he was sentenced to 20 years in the Montana State Prison, with 10 of those years suspended.

Missoula County District Court Judge John W. Larson presided.

Charging documents allege in 2018, Missoula police responded to a sexual assault call. The survivor reported that a year prior, in June 2017, she woke up in a hotel room with Purcell sexually assaulting her. Charges were not filed until June 2019. 

People are also reading…

The two knew each other from working in the National Guard simultaneously.

Britt Cotter represented Purcell, and Missoula Deputy County Attorney Andrea Haney prosecuted the case.

An order appointing the appellate public defender’s office was filed on March 9 in Missoula County District Court, but an appeal for Purcell’s case has not officially been filed in the Montana Supreme Court as of Wednesday.

Purcell was remanded to the custody of the Missoula sheriff’s

View Source