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Billings teen to be tried as adult on charges of raping four girls

Posted at 5:27 PM, Feb 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-21 20:04:50-05

BILLINGS – A former Billings Skyview football player accused of raping four girls will be tried before a jury as an adult next year.

Brayden Jaymes Pond, 17, agreed Thursday in Yellowstone County District Court to waive his right to a transfer hearing, which would have determined whether his case would move to juvenile court.

Judge Michael Moses ordered a jury trial be set for Jan. 21, 2020.

Last summer, prosecutors filed five charges of sexual assault without consent against Pond for one incident in 2016 and four more spanning from February 2017 to May 2017. One girl claimed Pond raped her on two different occasions.

The allegations were reported in January 2018, when the Skyview High School Resource Officer contacted a Billings police sergeant and the Billings West High School Resource Officer about the sexual assault complaints against Pond.

Two incidents allegedly occurred in a Walmart parking lot, one was at a house party and another two were in Pond’s truck, including once while parked on Skyview grounds, according to court documents.

Pond pleaded not guilty in September.

If convicted, Pond could spend the rest of his life in prison. Each charge carries a penalty of four years to 100 years in prison, along with a $50,000 fine per charge.

Pond was suspended from Skyview after the charges were filed.