A Kalispell priest accused of possessing child pornography pleaded not guilty during an April 19 hearing at Flathead County District Court.
The Rev. Rudolph Carl Bullman, 67, appeared before Judge Ted O. Lympus during an arraignment hearing, dressed in a red tie and gray jacket. Wendy Holton, Bullman’s Helena-based attorney, entered a not guilty plea to the charge of sexual abuse of children, a felony.
“That’s your plea, sir?” Lympus asked.
Bullman stood and replied, “Yes sir, it is.”
According to charging documents, last October a woman called the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office to report child pornography on a Nintendo DS – a handheld gaming system – she had purchased from Bullman.
Bullman, a former millworker from Libby, was ordained as a Catholic priest in 2000, and took over as the pastor at Risen Christ Parish in Kalispell in 2001. According to a statement from the Diocese of Helena, Bullman was placed on administrative leave on Dec. 16, when it learned the priest was under investigation.
Investigators interviewed Bullman that same day. He said he had used the Nintendo to view gay pornography but he only visited websites that said the people involved were over 18 years old.
Bullman also told investigators that he used his computer to look at porn, and gave detectives permission to search it as well. During the search, investigators found “images of young males between the ages of 12-18 engaged in sexual activity,” court records state.
Detectives reported that when the images appeared, Bullman allegedly said, “well, those aren’t adults.”
Prosecutors say Bullman told investigators that child pornography occasionally appeared on his computer due to his other porn searches, but he denied searching for or viewing it.
Investigators sent Bullman’s computer to the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation for analysis, where agents found over 20 images of child pornography in the Internet cache files and an additional 23 deleted photo files, according to court records.
Agents determined the images depicted children under the age of 16 and they were displayed in a sexually explicit nature.
Bullman’s bond was originally set at $15,000, and after his initial appearance, he was released on his own recognizance.
According to a statement from the diocese, Bullman has vacated the parish residence, per the diocese’s policy, and is not involved in ministry. He is also receiving counseling, the diocese stated.
A spokesperson for the diocese said in previous media reports that the diocese is fully cooperating with the investigation.
If he is found guilty, Bullman could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in Montana State Prison and a maximum fine of $10,000.
After Bullman pleaded not guilty, Judge Lympus set a trial date for October.