Missoula County still battling with Justice Dept.

MISSOULA (AP) — The Missoula County attorney is proposing a settlement in the U.S. Department of Justice's effort to investigate the way his office handles sexual assault and rape cases.

In December, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Montana said the issue could be settled if the office added three people to his staff to better address rape and sexual assault referrals from the police department.

The Missoulian reports (http://bit.ly/1lIDFSi ) Fred Van Valkenburg responded Thursday saying he is willing to negotiate an agreement that says his office would assist Missoula Police and the University of Montana campus police in meeting their obligations under their May 2013 agreements with the Justice Department.

If that is not acceptable, Van Valkenburg says he's prepared to take action to prevent the DOJ from imposing an unacceptable solution on his office.

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