Alleged offender denies molesting daughter over 16-year period

THOMPSON FALLS, Mont. - The Heron man accused of molesting his daughter for 16 years finally took the stand in his trial on Friday.

On the witness stand, Douglas Guill's behavior stood in stark contrast to the over-domineering man filled with delusions of grandeur that his accuser had painted him as. In nearly three hours of testimony, the 55-year-old would feebly look at Judge Kim Christopher and Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Guzynski to make sure he could answer defense attorney Mike Sherwood's question. He spoke so softly that Sherwood had to tell him to speak up so the jury could hear. He broke down in tears on several occasions.

Douglas Guill is charged with felony counts of sexual assault, sexual assault without consent and incest. He is alleged to have sexually assaulted his daughter when she was between the ages of 6 and 22, and during this time he is accused of not letting the victim and her mother Candace Guill off the property in Heron without his supervision.

Nicole Guill, (at that time Nicole Christensen) who spent more than 10 years living with the Guills as Douglas' live-in girlfriend while he continued to be lawfully married to Candace, has also been accused of participating in sexual acts between Douglas and the alleged victim and has been charged with sexual assault. Her trial has yet to be scheduled.

Nearly 30 minutes into the questioning, Sherwood said it was time to get down into the “nitty-gritty” and asked Douglas if he had ever had sex with his daughter or if he had ever molested her. Guill answered no to both questions. Later in his questioning, Sherwood said he hated to ask the questions, but did he ever burn the victim with cigarettes, pinch her so hard that it broke blood vessels or make her wear skimpy clothes. Once again, Guill answered no to all the questions.

Sherwood asked him if he was angry with the accusations, to which Guill answered, no. “I'm probably hurt and sad more than anything,” he said. Earlier in the questioning,  Sherwood asked Guill if he stilled loved the victim. His answer of yes was barely audible as he broke down in tears.

Guill first started crying when Sherwood asked him if he could explain a card to him from Candace and the victim. Through tears, he said it was a thank-you card to him from them after the two had spent a weekend in Missoula. Earlier in his testimony, Douglas had said the two were free to leave the property. He said that all he required of his daughter to leave the property was that she take his cell phone with her and also his credit card in case she ran out of gas.

Guill started to cry again when he had to explain to the jury the letter addressed to him from the victim after she moved to Sandpoint. He said he found the letter Sept. 9, 2006, in an empty closet because the victim had taken all of her clothes. He said he immediately called Candace to see if she knew about his daughter leaving.

Douglas said Candace denied knowing anything, but later told him the truth. He said Candace told him their daughter had called to see if he was dead yet. He said that Candace also told him their daughter had said “If this (moving out) don't kill him, nothing will.” 

Douglas had testified that in 2005 he had a lot of health problems, including back problems, residual calcium in his veins, and he believed he had suffered a couple of strokes that year.

“I know where I come from,” Douglas said when Sherwood asked him if he believed he was God. Sherwood asked him to explain what this meant. He said that he didn't think people were evil or vile because they had a different belief than he did. “I think people are individuals.”

Later, Sherwood asked him if he thought he could control other people or decide who could go to heaven and hell. “I'm not God. Never claimed to be,” the defendant said.

The state will begin their cross-examine of Guill at 8 a.m. Monday. Christopher said she is pressuring both sides to finish up their arguments, so she can give the jury their instructions Tuesday morning.

The case was originally scheduled to last one week and has already gone on for two weeks.