Yellowstone County man charged with incest

Kyle Einer Traeholt sexually abused the teen a little more than a decade ago, according to charging documents, and pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count of incest, a felony. The 59-year-old was booked into the Yellowstone County Jail Tuesday, days after a six-figure arrest warrant was issued.

The charge against Traeholt is unique because the woman he is accused of killing died three years ago. Outside of homicide cases, it is rare for prosecutors to pursue criminal cases in which the victim is dead, said Yellowstone County Prosecutor Scott Twito.

“We have devoted a lot of time and attention to preparing this case,” he said.

In 2022, detectives with the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office began investigating allegations against Traeholt. About 10 years earlier, court documents say, Traeholt sexually molested a teenage girl while they were living in Yellowstone County. The survivor of his abuse became pregnant, and the baby was stillborn at birth, according to charging documents.

The same survivor was shot and killed in a separate incident in 2021. Following the homicide investigation, people who knew her approached law enforcement with accusations she had previously shared of sexual harassment by Traeholt.

YSCO detectives were ordered to collect DNA from Traeholt and the stillborn child, according to court documents. DNA analysis allegedly showed that Traeholt was about 4,200 times more likely to be the child’s father than a random person. That fact, according to charging documents, provided moderate confirmation that he was the father. When detectives contacted him in April 2024, Traeholt allegedly refused to answer any questions until he spoke with an attorney.

Yellowstone County prosecutors charged Traehold with incest on Aug. 30, 2024, and signed a $200,000 arrest warrant. During the hearing, Yellowstone County District Judge Donald Harris kept bail at $200,000. If convicted of incest, Traeholt could face spending the rest of his life in prison.

Family members are the perpetrators in about one-third of all child sexual abuse cases, according to the nonprofit Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Reasons a survivor might not come forward include concern for their abuser, fear of the rest of the family’s reaction or being told that abuse is normal.

RAINN provides an online portal through which victims can seek help and remain anonymous at https://hotline.rainn.org/online.