A man is facing a sexual intercourse without consent charge after Missoula law enforcement found him having sex with an unconscious woman on the Van Buren Street Footbridge last week.Â
Elwood Gene Hall, 60, was charged with sexual intercourse without consent and tampering with evidence on Aug. 7, according to charging documents filed in Missoula County District Court.Â
On Aug. 6, Missoula Police Department officers responded to the Van Buren Street Footbridge by the University of Montana after witnesses called in reports of two people having sex on the north side of the bridge.
Officers found Hall on top of a woman who appeared to be unconscious, according to charging documents. Officers said Hall appeared to be performing oral sex on the woman and his genitals were exposed.Â
Officers immediately detained Hall in handcuffs, and the police department temporarily closed the bridge for an investigation. Â
Hall told officers that the two arrived at the footbridge around three to four hours earlier in the day to drink alcohol.
He at first denied having sexual intercourse with the woman, but then said the woman initiated the encounter.Â
Police officers wrapped Hall's hands with paper bags to preserve possible evidence in the case. He attempted to rip one of the bags while in custody, leading to an additional tampering with physical evidence charge.Â
Officers on scene said the woman, referred to as "Jane Doe" in charging documents, was initially unconscious and unresponsive.Â
"Doe did not know what was happening," prosecutors wrote.
She eventually told investigators that she arrived at the location alone one hour before the incident and had consumed a large quantity of alcohol.
The woman was then transported to the hospital for an evaluation. She told officers that she was not in a romantic or sexual relationship with Hall, and consented to a sexual assault exam.Â
Several witnesses told officers they witnessed Hall and the woman having oral sex, and that the woman appeared to be unconscious. The witnesses also said Hall appeared to have no regard for his surroundings.Â
Hall was booked into the Missoula County Detention Center on a $200,000 bail. Hall has faced several previous charges in Missoula County, including one instance of failing to register as a sex offender in 2023.Â
No court hearing had been set in the case as of Monday afternoon, which Judge Jason Marks is presiding over.Â
Griffen Smith is the local government reporter for the Missoulian. He is a 2023 graduate of the University of Montana School of Journalism and previously served as the editor of the Seeley Swan Pathfinder.
Originally published on missoulian.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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