A Billings resident and legislative candidate endorsed by the governor has been charged with endangering the welfare of a two-year-old foster child in her care. 

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Starr Emery, 48, earlier this month pleaded not guilty to one count of endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor, in Billings Municipal Court. 

 

Emery is the Republican candidate for House District 46, a district spanning parts of the Pioneer Park, Central-Terry and Midtown neighborhoods. She is running on a platform of “safe children,” “sound families” and “standing up for Montana families,” according to her campaign’s Facebook page. 

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The city attorney’s office in May charged Emery after an incident in which a Billings police patrol officer found an unaccompanied toddler on Wicks Lane in the Billings Heights, according to charging documents. When the officer was getting out of her vehicle, an older male driving by stopped and told her that he drives by all the time and that the children are always unsupervised. 

 

The officer attempted to speak with the child but the child was too young to communicate. More children, also young, eventually came out of the home and brought Emery, who was also home, out to speak with the officer. She told the officer that the other children were supposed to be watching the toddler. 

 

Emery had to be put in handcuffs and in the patrol vehicle before giving the identity and date of birth of the toddler. She told officers that she was responsible for six foster children.

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Emery did not respond to emails and calls requesting comment.

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In a 2017 court case in Yellowstone County Court, Emery’s ex-husband, Joshua Burley, was convicted of two felonies for sexually abusing two children, ages 5 and 13, about seven years prior. 

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“Starr’s and Burley’s relationship did not end after (the victim’s) allegation but they did end their relationship in May 2010,” according to court documents. 

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Emery has four children, according to documents from Burley’s court case. She ran for a position on the Billings school board last year but was defeated by incumbent Janna Hafer.

 

In an April 2023 questionnaire about her school board candidacy, she reported her job as being self-employed, her education as studying at Grand Canyon University and volunteer firefighting and foster parenting as her public service experience. 

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Emery is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 4, a day before Election Day. Her pre-trial conference is scheduled for January.

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Another legislative candidate previously endorsed by the governor was charged in August with three counts of sexual abuse.