California man charged in rape

A convicted sex offender from California has been arrested on charges of forcibly raping a Fortine woman within weeks of his arrival in Lincoln County.

Dwayne Roschell Bailey, 40, was arrested in the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 9, not far from the residence of the woman who reported that he had raped her. The woman told deputies from the Lincoln County Sheriff¹s Office that a man she later identified as Bailey had knocked on her door and asked for help, claiming that he was having vehicle problems. The woman told the officers that when she let Bailey into her home to warm up and contact someone for assistance he attacked her and raped her while strangling her. The woman fled the scene on foot before reporting the incident.

Border Patrol agents who responded to assist in the search for the suspect found Bailey a short distance from the woman¹s home. Bailey was charged with sexual intercourse without consent and failure to register as a sex offender along with possession of stolen property in connection with the theft of another woman¹s wallet.

Bailey made an initial appearance before Justice of the Peace Gary Hicks on Tuesday and is currently being held in the county jail on $100,000 bond.

Bailey was previously arrested on Sept. 16 in the Eureka area after a man reported the theft of a handgun from his car while he was fishing. A deputy responding to the call spoke with three other people at the scene who told him they had seen Bailey with a gun matching the description of the one the man had reported stolen. According to an affidavit filed by the arresting officer in justice court, Bailey initially provided a false name and date of birth. He was charged with criminal trespass to a vehicle, theft, possession of a firearm by a felon, failure to register as a sex offender and obstructing a peace officer. The stolen gun was not recovered.

On Sept. 29, Hicks ordered all the charges against Bailey except for the obstructing charge dismissed due to lack of probable cause. Along with pointing out the lack of evidence to support the charges related to the theft of the gun, court-appointed attorney Ann German successfully argued that there was insufficient proof that Bailey was required to register as a sex offender. Convicted offenders are required to register within 10 days of moving to Montana. Bailey told the arresting officer that he was homeless, although the officer reported in his affidavit that Bailey had been in the area for ³about 14 days.²

Bailey pleaded guilty to the obstructing charge and was sentenced to six months in jail with the sentence suspended except for time served. He was ordered by Hicks to register as a sex offender if he remained in the area after Oct. 1.