Big Sky Times

A Red Lodge resident, Nathan Samuel Polakoff, has been sentenced to 20 years in the Montana State Prison following his conviction for assaulting a 9-month-old child in 2019. Attorney General Austin Knudsen made the announcement on October 24, 2024. The incident left the child, now six years old, with a fractured skull and enduring partial blindness along with significant cognitive challenges.

In April 2019, officers from the Red Lodge Police Department responded to an emergency call at Polakoff's home. Upon arrival, they discovered Polakoff holding the seemingly lifeless infant and claiming that the boy was not breathing. An officer detected shallow breaths and rushed the child to Beartooth Billings Clinic before transferring him to a hospital in Salt Lake City.

Attorney General Knudsen expressed his commitment to protecting children in Montana: “We will not tolerate violence against children in Montana. I’m proud of our prosecutors who secured justice in the case – they did excellent work. As attorney general, I will ensure that we continue to fight to keep our communities and families safe and hold criminals accountable.”

Polakoff initially reported that the child's injuries were due to a fall from a futon two days earlier. However, medical professionals determined that the injuries resulted from two separate forceful events. A doctor involved in treating the child observed severe skull fractures and retinal hemorrhages consistent with violent impact trauma.

Further investigation revealed that Polakoff had advised both the victim's mother and aunt against disclosing his sole presence with the child during critical times.