A convicted sex offender arrested for allegedly failing to register his new address in the Flathead denied allegations in a district court on Tuesday. Department of Corrections officers arrested Donald Stanfield in April, at Northwest Ballet School and Company, where the owner says he had been teaching since 2011.
The owner tells NBC Montana that Stanfield began dancing in school performances back in 2006, prior to his conviction. Stanfield entered a general denial, which is similar to a not guilty plea. Now prosecutors will have to prove he violated his probation by failing disclose that he was living at least part time in the Flathead.
?Any time we have an offender, especially one that is convicted of the crime that he was, intentionally deceiving us or not being truthful in their actions, it is a serious matter,? said Dave Castro, an administrator with the Department of Corrections. ?I think we responded quickly. We were informed of it on April 20 and within a few hours we had him arrested and detained.?
Stanfield was originally charged with raping or molesting two girls, but ended up pleading guilty to one amended count of sexual assault. The judge handed Stanfield a deferred sentence in 2008.
