DEER LODGE — Two Montana State Prison inmates face felony charges following an attack on a female corrections officer in June.
Bradley Crisman is charged with felony attempted aggravated sexual intercourse without consent, and Michael Spell is charged with attempted aggravated sexual intercourse without consent by accountability.
On the afternoon of June 8, Spell and Crisman allegedly forced a female corrections officer into a prison cell where Spell allegedly held the cell door closed and Crisman allegedly tried to remove his belt to sexually assault the officer.
Other corrections officers responded and were able to open the door and subdue Spell, while the female corrections officer was able to overpower Crisman and handcuff him.
Charging documents state the female officer and a male officer were checking cell doors in the Delta block of the prison as inmates were going to dinner. Spell is accused of distracting the female officer, grabbing her around the waist, and pulling her into his cell.
Crisman is accused of pushing the officer from behind into the cell. Investigators suspect the pair had planned the abduction ahead of time.
The male corrections officer rushed to help but the cell door was shut and blocked by Spell before he got there. The male officer called for backup and used pepper spray on Spell.
Arriving officers got the cell door open and Spell ran out and was subdued. The guards did not realize the female officer was still in the cell and she continued to struggle with Crisman for about a minute before she was able to handcuff him.
“As a warden, I take things very personal and staff well-being is the highest in my mind. I want to make sure my staff are safe,” said Montana State Prison Warden Jim Salmonsen.
While the warden would not talk about this latest incident since it’s a pending case, Salmonsen did say violence in the prison can be common.
“It could be daily, it could be weekly. It just depends on how things are inside with the inmate population. Like I said, it’s a difficult and challenging environment to navigate,” said Salmonsen.
With over 1,600 inmates, the prison is dealing with crowded conditions.
“Any time you put a group of people in a confined area, tensions are going to rise. Being a correctional professional, it is a risk. This is a difficult and challenging environment that changes day to day,” the warden said.
Spell is serving a 100-year sentence for his role in the kidnapping and murder of Sidney school teacher Sherry Arnold in 2012. Crisman is serving 75 years for assaulting a real estate agent in Great Falls in 2012.
