Great Falls Public Schools administrators sent a letter on June 29 to parents of Meadow Lark Elementary students regarding the incident with Reese Riggin at a school event.

GFPS “is deeply troubled and saddened by the recent events involving Reese Riggin. Our hearts are with the students and families affected. We understand and share the concern and distress this situation has caused throughout our community,” Jackie Mainwaring, assistant superintendent, wrote in the letter.

Riggin arrested due to new allegations of inappropriately touching girls

The Electric first reported last week that Riggin was arrested June 25 after the Cascade County Attorney’s Office filed a motion to revoke his suspended sentence based on new allegations of inappropriately touching young girls at an end of the school year event at Meadow Lark.

He was arrested in Spokane, where he was attending a 3-on-3 youth basketball tournament, according to the county attorney’s office.

He’s being held in the Spokane County Jail on no bond while prosecutors obtain the necessary paperwork to have him extradited to Cascade County, where he’ll make another initial appearance. That will likely be sometime next week, County Attorney Josh Racki told The Electric.

The initial appearance will be followed by an answer hearing, then an evidentiary hearing, Racki said, and that process could take weeks to months.

Riggin was convicted on a felony count of sexual intercourse without consent and sentenced in August 2016 to a 20-year commitment to the Montana Department of Corrections with 15 years suspended.

He was released in November 2017 and placed on parole. He began serving the suspended portion of his sentence in August 2021, according to court documents.

On June 24, Judge David Grubich issued an arrest warrant with a $150,000 bond, including conditions that he stay away from the victims and all Great Falls Public Schools property and any children under 18.

“Unfortunately, the judge’s terms of Mr. Riggin’s release in 2016 did not prohibit him from being present on school grounds or around children while participating in activities associated with his family’s business. Concerns regarding Mr. Riggin had reportedly been brought to members of the previous administration. But there is no condition in his release that prohibits him from being present at school, especially one his children attend. Our current building administrator was not aware of his identity, of those concerns, nor of his prior convictions before she received the reports of this incident,” Mainwaring wrote.

Riggin is a registered Tier 2 sex offender in Montana, which means the risk of a repeat sexual offense is moderate, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

Judge Dirk Sandefur included the following conditions in his August 2016 sentencing order:

• [Riggin] shall not employ, supervise, care for, treat, or otherwise exercise any form of direct or indirect control over any non-family female persons.
• [Riggin] shall not be on site during business hours at any family business or any other family business he may have a family interest in that has female patrons or employees.

But in November 2016, at [Riggin’s] request, Sandefur issued an order that [Riggin] “shall not hold direct supervisory control over any non-family female employees, but he shall be allowed to interact in public places with patrons of the business.”

The conflict between the initial and amended conditions has caused challenges for probation officers, according to the county attorney’s office.

“For years, Flippin’ Family Fun has provided the rock wall used during the sixth-grade celebration. This year’s parent committee arranged again for the equipment only, and those involved were unaware that Mr. Riggin would remain on site after the equipment was delivered. At no time during the event was the administration made aware of his identity. Even so, based on the information available at that time, the conditions of his release would not have prohibited his presence at the event,” Mainwaring wrote. “When students reported concerning behavior, school administration immediately notified law enforcement and the Department of Family Services.  We appreciate the work done by law enforcement and the prompt action taken by the county attorney. We will continue to work with law enforcement.”

In response to a reader question about the timing of Riggin’s arrest, Racki told The Electric that officials needed to complete their investigation and decide on their legal strategy.

“In response to this incident, the district is conducting a thorough review of volunteer, vendor, and special event procedures. District-wide protocols will be strengthened, and a repository of people who should not be allowed access to our schools has been created and will be maintained. Our community can expect to see increased vigilance and a reduction in the scale and type of events held during the school day across all our schools, together with a system-wide vetting of any vendors involved. Additionally, and it goes without saying, GFPS will also no longer use this company as a vendor,” Mainwaiting wrote. “The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority. We are exceptionally saddened for the families involved and unequivocally condemn any behavior that compromises the safety or trust of the children entrusted to our care. We ask for understanding of the privacy of the families who were directly affected. We remain committed to learning from this situation and implementing robust processes to prevent anything similar from occurring in the future.”