Butte man pleads not guilty to three counts of rape; prosecutors detail accusations
Mia Walsh
Updated on April 09, 2026
A woman says kissing and some initial sexual activity with a Butte man was consensual at first but he became aggressive, pulled her hair and raped her.
Prosecutors allege that 27-year-old Seth Logan Leitheiser raped the woman vaginally, orally and anally so they charged him with three separate counts of sexual intercourse without consent and two counts of misdemeanor assault.
Leitheiser pleaded not guilty to all five charges Wednesday, and District Judge Robert Whelan set the next hearing for May 24. Leitheiser appeared with his attorney, Jack Morris, and is free pending further court proceedings.
Each felony rape charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison and fine up to $50,000. The assault charges were based on Leitheiser allegedly pulling the woman’s hair during the assaults and are each punishable by up to six months in jail and fines up to $500.
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In recently filed charging documents, prosecutors provide more details on what they believe happened in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 4.
The alleged victim said she and several friends were at Leitheiser’s residence in the 100 block of Porphyry Street that Friday night and Saturday morning, drinking alcohol and partying. She said in the morning hours she went into a bedroom and lay down on a bed where there was also another woman.
She said Leitheiser came into the bedroom, lay on top of her and they began kissing. The other woman on the bed left but a third woman came in and lay down, prosecutors say.
The alleged victim said Leitheiser put his hands down her pants and penetrated her with a finger but the interaction to that point was consensual. The third woman then left, came back but left again after Leitheiser started kissing her.
The mood in the bedroom changed after that, the alleged victim said, and Leitheiser became physically aggressive. He rolled her onto her stomach with her face pushed into a pillow, and the sexual assaults began.
The woman said she told him to stop several times but he refused, at one point saying, “It’s OK. You can be a good girl and take it for daddy,” according to charging documents.
At one point she tried to get out of the room but said Leitheiser pulled her to the floor by her hair and forced her to perform oral sex. She said the assaults continued until she said she was going to be sick, and Leitheiser allowed her to leave the room.
The woman told a friend what happened, and they left the residence and went to St. James Healthcare, where a rape exam was conducted and police were called.
Officers also went to Leitheiser’s residence and spoke with him. He told them he fell asleep before anyone had left and when he woke up that morning, “Everyone was gone.”
“Mr. Leitheiser denied having any sexual contact with (the woman) and stated she had never been in his bedroom,” prosecutors said. “The defendant then requested to speak to a lawyer before answering any further questions and the interview was stopped.”
Police applied for a search warrant for the residence, and Leitheiser was taken to the Butte jail. His clothing was confiscated and secured as evidence, and a search warrant was granted for police to obtain a DNA swab from Leitheiser.
Some of the evidence, including the rape kit exam, was sent to the Montana State Crime Lab for analysis.
Stacker compiled a list of the fastest-growing cities in Montana using data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Cities are ranked by the highest population growth from 2010 to 2020.
Mike Smith is a reporter at the Montana Standard with an emphasis on government and politics.
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