MISSOULA – A Frenchtown High School music teacher appeared in court Wednesday to set his trial date on charges that he sexually assaulted two students.
A jury trial is scheduled to take place from Aug. 20 through Aug. 24. State prosecutors anticipated and requested six days for the trial.
Troy Bashor entered not guilty pleas to one felony count of sexual assault and one misdemeanor count of sexual assault in Missoula District Court back in March.
For the felony charge, Bashor is accused of inappropriately touching a female student on a nearly-daily basis from the summer of 2014 to early 2017. The girl involved in the felony charge reported the contact escalated from hugging to groping.
The felony charge comes after a separate misdemeanor sexual assault charge was filed against him in October involving another student. That student claimed Bashor sexually harassed and groped her on several occasions in 2016.
While in court on Wednesday, Bashor also asked to be granted permission to travel out of state to Spokane for vacation, which Judge Leslie Halligan approved for May 18 to May 19. Halligan had previously granted Bashor permission to travel within the state of Montana, but added that Bashor must seek permission from her and prosecutors in order to travel out of state.
