Healy sentenced to nearly 50 years for assault, rape

A Hays resident was sentenced to more than 27 years in federal prison followed by 20 years probation for assaulting and raping a woman in his home on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Louis Michael Healy, 40, was convicted April 17 after a two-day trial in U.S. District Court in Great Falls of assault resulting in serious injury, aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact. The jury could not reach a verdict on another charge, assault with a dangerous weapon, and the prosecutors later dropped that charge.

U.S. Chief District Judge Dana Christensen sentenced Healy in federal court in Great Falls last week to 327 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release.

During the trial, some of Healy’s neighbors testified that the woman woke them up at 4 a.m. pounding on the door saying her boyfriend was going to kill her.

The woman and Healy had been drinking, and Healy had asked her to marry him. The woman told him that she would not marry him unless he could prove he had stopped talking to his ex-girlfriend.

After they went to Healy’s residence, the woman found emails on his computer that indicated he still was talking to his ex-girlfriend, and when she became upset he grabbed her while she was sitting in a rolling chair and shoved her across the room.

The woman crashed and hit her head, and when she woke Healy was choking her. He then went to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and held it to her throat, threatening to kill her if she didn’t stop crying.

A short while later, Healy sexually assaulted her while she was repeatedly telling him to stop.

He later ordered the woman to email his ex-girlfriend and to tell the ex-girlfriend she would leave her alone.

Later, the woman ran from the house while Healy was in the bathroom, and ran to the neighbors’ home. Healy chased her, but she was able to get into the neighbor’s house safely.

When law enforcement officers arrived at Healy’s home he was walking away from his residence, carrying two black bags. The officers used pepper spray to subdue him when he refused to stop walking as ordered, swearing at the officers.