Powell County Sheriff’s Captain Austin Micu is being investigated by the state Department of Criminal Investigation. The state has not share details of the probe.
Powell County Sheriff’s Captain Austin Micu is being investigated by the state Department of Criminal Investigation. The state has not share details of the probe.
A former captain with the Powell County Sheriff's Office who doubled as the high school's wrestling coach has been charged by state prosecutors with one count of sexual intercourse without consent after allegedly sexually assaulting a high school student, according to the Montana Department of Justice.
John Austin Micu, 42, was charged July 1 after a year-long probe into sexual assault allegations between Micu and a Powell County High School student, the state’s Department of Justice said in a news release. Micu served as the head wrestling coach at Powell County High School and as a PCSO captain at the time of the alleged offense in 2025.
He is scheduled to appear at 10 a.m. on Aug. 4 in Deer Lodge District Court before Judge Jeffrey Dahood. Assistant Attorney General Meghann Paddock will prosecute the case.
Micu
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Micu stepped down from the sheriff’s office position on June 23; he had resigned from his Deer Lodge School District coaching position in March 2025 within days of a complaint being filed against him.
According to court records dated and signed July 1, the student involved was a member of the school’s wrestling program in 2024-25.
The DOJ’s Division of Criminal Investigation agents who interviewed the student in March 2025 confirmed the student admitted to staying with Micu “for a while" after moving out of a parent's home, the affidavit said. The student disclosed being 18 at the time of the alleged sexual contact and that Micu “was no longer considered” the student's coach.
After staying at Micu’s home for a few days, the student proceeded to live with Micu’s parents before moving to stay with his “friend and pastor.”
During an interview with DCI agents on April 15, 2025, Micu admitted to having an argument with his wife before having sexual intercourse with the student on "three occasions," court records show.
Afterward, an officer advised Micu to search for MCA 45-5-501 about the definition of consent, to which Micu replied he “did not know" the statute existed.
That law says a person is incapable of consent if they are a student and the alleged perpetrator is not a student and is an employee of the school who "has ever" had any authority over the student in a school setting.
School district records confirm a Title IX probe transpired, wherein both Micu and the student initially denied having a sexual relationship. But other evidence contradicted those claims, the affidavit stated.
The Helena Police Department first received a walk-in report on March 1, 2025, about the alleged sexual misconduct. The walk-in party stated Micu had communicated with the student via Snapchat.
The charging documents say Micu acknowledged the student would stay overnight in his basement when fighting with parents, and that Micu would stay in the basement because he was having marital issues.
“During a conversation with another Powell County officer, Micu denied having a sexual relationship with the student, but acknowledged that the student would stay overnight in his basement when the student was fighting with her mother,” the DOJ release stated. “Micu also stated that he would stay in the basement with her because he was having marital issues.”
Deer Lodge Police Department initially helped with the investigation.
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