$5K bond set for man in sex case

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Bond for a Bismarck man charged with a sexually related crime was set at $5,000 during a hearing in Dickinson, Wednesday.

Charles Rousseau, 46, is charged with gross sexual imposition for allegedly having sexual contact with a girl younger than 15 years old. The incident allegedly happened in a Dickinson motel room in September.

“This is a very serious charge,” Judge H. Patrick Weir said at the hearing, held at the Stark County Courthouse.

However, because Rousseau does not appear to have a criminal history, Weir set his terms of release as an unsecured cash bond.

“He’s not going to have to post that unless he fails to appear in the future,” said Rhonda Ehlis, Stark County assistant state’s attorney.

Rousseau is a North Dakota National Guard Staff Sgt., said Guard Spokesman Bill Prokopyk.

The Guard deals with soldiers who are accused or convicted of a crimes on an individual basis, he said.

“If a guardsman is accused of a crime, then the commander evaluates the person and evaluates the crime,” Prokopyk said. “Certainly no one is guilty until the judge says he’s guilty.”

However, administrative actions can be taken before a conviction if a commander feels it’s fit, he said. A soldier’s duties may change if accused of a crime that may impact his duties, Prokopyk said, but that doesn’t usually happen.

“Just being accused of a crime probably isn’t enough,” Prokopyk said. “All the charges might be dismissed, so it would be unfair.”

Prokopyk is unaware of any such actions that have taken place as a result of this incident.

“The military must wait until the civilian process is done and the commander will evaluate it at that time,” Prokopyk said. “Normally, I would think that if someone is going to have prison time in any kind of felony conviction, then most likely the commander would begin administrative processing to remove that person from the Guard.”

If convicted, Rousseau faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $10,000.

He was given a court summons rather than being arrested for the alleged crime.

“The total facts and circumstances did not appear to warrant it,” said Jim Hope, Stark County assistant state’s attorney.

Rousseau is not allowed to have contact with the alleged victim, but will be allowed to leave the state when his job requires him to.

Rousseau plans to apply for a court-appointed attorney and declined comment after his hearing.

Tags: sex assault, charles rousseau, news, local, guard, bismarck