Beau Donaldson rape conviction upheld by sentence review

This last January, Donaldson, a former University of Montana Griz football runningback, pled guilty to sexual intercourse without consent in a case surrounding himself and a sleeping girl. Pursuant to Donaldson’s plea of guilty to the charge, he was sentenced in Missoula District Court to 30 years in prison, with 20 of those years suspended, which would be served on probation. Following the sentence, Donaldson sought review and a lesser sentence through the sentence review procedures in Montana. The sentence review panel is a group of district court judges from Montana that hear cases where defendants may have their sentences decreased, not changed, or even increased. The sentence review board heard Donaldson’s case, and did not change the sentence. Donaldson will be eligible for early release to probation after just 2 1/2 years behind bars.