HELENA — A Helena Public Schools paraeducator is accused of raping and abusing a student.
Court documents filed on Wednesday by the county attorney’s office state that James Huber is facing three felony counts of sexual intercourse without consent involving a victim 12 years or younger, one felony count of exposure observed by a person under the age of 16 years old, and one felony charge of sexual abuse of children.
Huber made his initial appearance in Lewis and Clark County Justice Court on Wednesday before Judge Mike Swingley. Swingley set bond at $200,000, and Huber is scheduled to be arraigned in state district court on April 14, 2026.
To protect the identity of the victim, MTN is limiting what we report on this story.
According to the charging document, law enforcement was dispatched to C.R. Anderson Middle School on March 23, 2026, for a report of a sexual assault. Huber works at the school as a paraeducator.
During the course of the investigation, law enforcement says they discovered alleged text and Snapchat conversations between Huber and a Helena Public Schools student that contained sexually explicit images and “inappropriate messages.” Investigators further allege that in the images, there was a selfie of Huber, one of the text threads had more than 36,000 messages between the two, and a phone number believed to be associated with Huber would refer to the student as “baby.”
A forensic interview was conducted with the victim, who allegedly described multiple sexual encounters with Huber as early as January 2026.
Helena Public Schools told MTN they are aware of the accusations against Huber and are cooperating fully with law enforcement for their investigation. Huber has been placed on administrative leave.
Helena Public Schools' full statement:
Helena Public Schools was made aware of a possible incident accusing a C.R. Anderson Middle School para-educator of felony level crimes.
The District is fully cooperating with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and authorities during this investigation. The employee is not in the education setting and will be placed on administrative leave.
The safety and well-being of our students remain our highest priority. We are committed to maintaining a safe environment for our school community and will continue to work closely with local authorities throughout this process.
Editor's Note: This is a developing story that will be updated.
