Columbia Falls man accused of raping child

By DERRICK PERKINS

For the Hungry Horse News

Prosecutors have charged a Columbia Falls man with sexual intercourse without consent for allegedly raping a child in 2020.

Shawn Steven Fauske, 38, is being held in the Flathead County Detention Center on a $150,000 bond after charges were filed in the case this week. According to public records, he was booked in the county jail on May 3 after an arrest warrant was issued on April 29.

Kalispell Police officers began investigating Fauske in June 2020. A child, at the time under the age of 12, told detectives that he raped her in her Columbia Falls bedroom on June 3, court documents said.

If convicted of sexual intercourse without consent, Fauske faces up to 100 years in Montana State Prison and a maximum fine of $50,000. Because the child was under 12 and Fauske an adult, he would not be eligible for parole for at least 25 years.