Malmstrom Air Force airman accused of raping 17-year-old multiple times

Traci Rosenbaum, Great Falls Tribune
·2 min read
Two Great Falls residents are now in police custody following a high-speed chase that at times reached 120-mph

A Malmstrom Air Force Base airman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of six counts of sexual intercourse without consent (the Montana statute for rape) and one count of aggravated sexual intercourse without consent.

The following information comes directly from charging documents. The defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty.

On May 9, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations received information that Cleve Charles Nelson, 31, had reportedly been sexually abusing a 17-year-old girl over the course of four months.

The girl told Nelson's ex-spouse about the alleged rapes while Nelson was out of town on a work trip. The affidavit states the girl had text messages from Nelson that included nude photos, messages about the rapes, messages about hiding the rapes and messages about Nelson purchasing Plan B birth control.

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Nelson's ex-spouse confronted Nelson, and he reportedly answered via text message, "I'm sorry I let everyone down ... I would hate for this to escalate further, but I will face the consequences of my actions. I'm not a bad person, but there is a problem with my self-control." The woman reported the alleged rapes to Malmstrom Security Forces.

During an interview with law enforcement, the woman reported that Nelson had also raped her about twice a month during their marriage and had filmed them having sex without her consent.

During a forensic interview, the girl said Nelson had raped her at least six times, getting her intoxicated, holding her down and sometimes strangling her. Nelson also allegedly recorded the rapes and sent the girl illicit photos of himself.

When police interviewed Nelson, he claimed he and the girl had sex consensually.

Nelson is being held at the Cascade County Detention Center on a $100,000 bond.

This article originally appeared on Great Falls Tribune: Malmstrom Airman Cleve Charles Nelson accused in rapes