BUTTE — A former youth hockey coach will serve 300 years in prison for raping three boys.
Jami Leslie James was sentenced to 100 years in prison each on six counts of sexual intercourse without consent in Butte District Court on Wednesday morning.
Half of the sentences will be served at the same time, and James, 48, won’t be eligible for parole for 60 years.
In September of 2025, James was found guilty on all six counts of sexual intercourse without consent. The jury deliberated for about three hours.
In the week of testimony in 2025, MTN News reported that prosecutors had been trying to convince a jury that the youth hockey coach was guilty of sexually assaulting three of his young hockey players.
“Because when you assault and offend kids in the state of Montana, it’s going to hurt,” said Montana State Prosecutor Kelli Fivey.
James of Columbia Falls faced six felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent.
He was accused of raping three boys under the age of 12 in Butte and Flathead County between 2019 and 2021. James had pleaded not guilty to the charges.
His defense attorney told the jury during the closing argument on Sept. 12, 2025, that the allegations against James are false, and the police did a poor investigation in this case.
“Law enforcement investigation is so bad you can’t even call it a pile of garbage, okay. You can’t call it a pile of garbage, because they did so little; there’s no garbage. The only thing you can call this investigation they did is an empty garbage can, because they did nothing,” said defense attorney Scott Hilderman.
The state told the jury to believe the testimony of the three young boys, who were participating in hockey camps run by James. Some of the boys alleged that James assaulted them in a hotel in Butte and also at camps in Flathead County.
“Don’t let those moments be lost on you. Those three kids told you that. Is there anything more embarrassing for a young man to do in a room full of people that they don’t know?” said Fivey.
James’ defense attacked the credibility of the accusers and told the jury the investigation into this case had too many holes.
Watch previous coverage: Guilty: Verdict reached in youth hockey coach sex assault trial
