Man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting young girl in Helena Valley

A man charged in January with raping a 9-year-old girl in the Helena Valley pleaded guilty to two felony charges Tuesday, including sexual intercourse without consent, admitting a jury would likely find him guilty despite him being too drunk during the alleged incident to remember what happened.

Angelo Christopher Zacharias, 32, entered an Alford plea of guilty to one count of sexual intercourse without consent – victim under 12 and one felony count of aggravated assault, an agreement with prosecutors that Judge Michael McMahon accepted at the end of Tuesday’s hearing.

Lewis and Clark County Deputy County Attorney Fallon Stanton said prosecutors wouldn't typically have offered such a plea deal, but that her understanding was Zacharias was so intoxicated on Jan. 18 and 19 that he cannot recount what occurred that led to him being charged with five felonies tied to the alleged sexual abuse.

The victim and her family agreed with the deal offered by prosecutors, Stanton said.

“Ordinarily, we would not accept an offered plea, but under those unique facts, that he’s not essentially disputing what happened based on his lack of memory, the state is prepared to go forward with that,” she said. “… We would like to see this get done; family would like to see this get done.”

The girl reported to her mother that Zacharias had sexually assaulted and strangled her the morning after it allegedly occurred in January, according to court records and testimony at Tuesday’s hearing. She was immediately taken to the hospital for a sexual assault exam, and while police were going to the home where Zacharias was, he allegedly continued drinking and ingested pills. Police would find him nearly unresponsive upon arrival, struggling to breathe, the court was told Tuesday.

“(Zacharias’ mother) believed the defendant was trying to overdose based on what he had done,” Stanton said.

Zacharias told McMahon he agreed to the Alford pleas and knowingly entered them. He will undergo a presentence investigation and a psychosexual evaluation before his sentencing hearing, which was set for July 8.

McMahon also ordered Zacharias be held without bond pending that hearing.

For the sexual intercourse without consent charge, since the victim was under age 12 and Zacharias was over age 18, he faces a term in the state prison of 100 years, without the possibility of parole for 25 years. For the aggravated assault charge, he faces up to 20 years in prison.