Nicole Guill sentenced to 15 years

Nicole Guill walked into the Sanders County Courtroom Tuesday morning for with a smile on her face, even as she faced sentencing for sexual intercourse without consent and accountability for sexual intercourse and incest by accountability.

Guill was sentenced to a total of 15 years in the Montana State Women’s Penitentiary. Judge Deborah Kim Christopher imposed a sentence of 25 years with 10 years suspended on each count, with each sentence to run concurrently.

In addition to the jail time, Christopher imposed several restrictions on Guill. She will not be eligible for early release until she successfully completes a sexual predator treatment program. She will also have to register as a Level 2 sex offender, will not be allowed in the same city as the victim, and is to have no contact with her husband, Douglas Guill, who was sentenced to 50 years in prison on Sept. 2.

Christopher said that this was one of the hardest cases she has ever had to preside over.

“Since there is no deviant sexual behavior, the scariest part of the this entire case is the lack of explanation for these crimes,” she said. “These crimes involve horrific crimes and there are very odd, unexplainable mental health circumstances here.”

Christopher said Nicole Guill would receive credit for the jail time she has already served, so that she can possibly be rehabilitated. Christopher also said that keeping her away from her husband was the best thing for Nicole Guill.

“This was the only way to provide for some kind of hope that will give her a life where she won’t be an absolute servant,” Christopher said.

She said that her sentence provided for punishment, protection for the victim and the community as well as possible rehabilitation for Guill.

The sentencing hearing lasted around three-and-a-half hours with the state calling two members of Guill’s family to the stand.

Kelly Catlin, Guill’s older sister, took the stand to testify about her own experience with Douglas Guill and how he had a powerful hold over every member in her family.

“He made me do unspeakable things,” Catlin said. “I never liked him, but I believed his message and he had a hold on me.”

Catlin said it has taken years of counseling for her to be able to live a normal life and to be able to fight the demons that have been following her.

She said that it was painful to watch her sister be brainwashed by Douglas Guill and that she and her family had exhausted numerous resources to try to get her out of that situation.

“We’ve driven thousands of miles and spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars and hired detectives to try and help her,” she said.

She also said that Nicole Guill was a kind, sweet and smart child and that she would never hurt a fly.

“There is no way she would ever do this on her own, unless she was brainwashed to,” she said.

Guill’s mother, Delores Christensen, also took the stand and read a statement to the court, which was personally directed at Guill and her brother, Ricky Christensen.

“I’m pleading with the court to please have mercy on Nicole,” Christensen said. “Douglas perpetuated the worst kind of con, all in the name of God. Our hearts have been broken because we were such a loving and caring family.”

Christensen said that she has never stopped loving her daughter and that if Guill ever go to a point where she wanted to reconcile with her family, Christensen said they would welcome her back.

“We would reach out to her with open arms,” she said.

Dr. Robert Page, a clinical psychologist also testified at the sentencing hearing. He testified that Guill’s arousal patterns were normal, which showed she didn’t suffer from pedophilia.

“The sexual acts were not based on her need for sexual arousal,” he said. “They were driven by an external force and that was Douglas Guill.”

He recommended that Nicole Guill be assigned as a Tier-2 sexual offender, which is a moderate risk. He said the main reason he was recommending this was because there isn’t a whole lot of data on females committing these types of crimes and their tendency to do them again. Also, he said that because she was in denial, that made it impossible for any real therapy or rehabilitation to take place.

Guill’s attorney Noel Larivee said that he thought this was a case of “burning the village in order to save it.”

He said that Guill had no priors and was not the primary perpetrator in the case and was at a low risk to re-offend so she should not be given the harshest sentence. He also felt that her not having contact with her husband was not an appropriate condition of her sentence.

One Larivee was done making his case, Guill spoke on her own behalf.

“My husband and I are innocent, we were falsely accused and falsely convicted,” she said as she began to cry — the only time since the hearing began that Guill’s smile disappeared.

She accused Douglas Guill’s ex-wife, Candice, of “giving false information out about us” to the court. Nicole Guill added that she loved her husband and would continue to stick by him.

“My husband is kind and compassionate and I am pleased, honored and thankful to be Mrs. Douglas Guill,” she said.

She continued on to say that the truth had been hidden throughout the case.

“My husband and I have been lied about through this,” she said. “The truth matters to my husband and myself. We’ve been let down by the system.”

Her closing sentence was pointed almost directly at Candice Guill, as well as those who she said “falsely convicted her.”

“Next time you wash your hands they won’t come clean, that’s the stain of innocent blood on your hands,” she said.

Larivee is planning on appealing the sentence and wanted Christopher to set a bond for Nicole Guill, however Christopher would not grant her bond because of her potential risk to the community.