Rape charges filed in 2015 runaway case

Joseph Dee Walbridge, a 20-year-old Billings man, is facing up to 200 years in prison after being arrested and charged with two felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent. Walbridge was arrested March 9, 2016, in Billings, and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center to answer the complaint.

The charges stem from a 2015 incident with a runaway teen from the Libby area.

According to the narrative filed by Sergeant Darren Short of the Libby Police Department, he was dispatched to an address in Libby on Jan. 26, 2015, for a report of a runaway.

“I arrived and spoke with [victim’s mother] who told me that her 15-year-old foster daughter, [victim], ran away again,” Short wrote in his report. “[Mother] told me that [victim] ran away the previous night but had showed up at school in the morning. She came home from schoool and was there for a few hours before she ran away again. [Mother] said that she had checked Facebook and had seen posts from [victim] talking about being with Joe (Walbridge), who is 20 years old, the previous night.”

Short then checked two of Walbridge’s suspected hang-outs, but was unable to locate the victim or Walbridge. He then unsuccessfully searched the Libby area. The victim was located in Spokane, Wash., Feb. 15, 2015, and returned to Libby where she was interviewed by Short and Libby Police Chief Terry Watson. The investigation into the circumstances of the teen’s departure and the events leading up to her return have been under investigation ever since.

In a report dated Dec. 11, 2015, Chief Watson detailed the timeline of events.

“[Victim] stated that her and Walbridge left together, they spent a night at the Caboose Motel in Libby,” he wrote. “[Victim] stated that her and Walbridge had sex during their time in Libby and on the run. [Victim] said that they hitchhiked from Troy to Bonners, to Sandpoint, then got a ride to the Spokane Valley Mall area where they were dropped off at a gas station. While they were travelling [victim] said that Walbridge would not let her use any phones to contact anyone.”

Watson said the pair met a man, James Quintell Taylor, at the gas station who invited them to party at his home. They were given alcohol and drugs and instructed to dye their hair and to neither leave the house nor use the phone.  After a couple of days there was an apparent falling-out between Walbridge and the Taylor. The victim told Watson that Taylor and perhaps two other men beat Walbridge and removed him from the house.

The victim said she remained at the house until Feb. 15, when Taylor told her to leave.

“After three or four days at Taylor’s, Walbridge was severely beaten by Taylor and possibly two other males and [victim] never saw him again,” Watson wrote. “She was told he was dropped about a mile or so from Taylor’s house. [Victim] remained at the residence with Taylor and his girlfriend Maria and her three children until Feb. 15, when Taylor got scared of the police and FBI calling and told her to leave and turn herself in.”

Law enforcement had been contacting Taylor based upon a Jan. 30, 2015, call to the victim’s mother from a man who identified himself as Jason Tucker. “Tucker” told the mother he had seen a runaway in the mall, who had asked to use his phone to call home.

After investigators repeatedly contacted “Tucker,” the victim called her mother and was returned home.

Watson said the details provided in the victim’s statements to law enforcement led him to conclude she had been sexually assaulted by Walbridge.

“Based on this investigation, I believe Walbridge knew that [victim] was only 15 years old, and sexually assaulted [victim] while in Libby and while on the run,” Watson wrote. “Walbridge also knew [victim] was running away from home and assisted her in running away. Walbridge actively hitchhiked with [victim] in order to take her out of the state of Montana.”

Walbridge is being held in the Lincoln County jail on $100,000 bond.