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Man pleads not guilty to sexual abuse charges

A 31-year-old former Minot man pleaded not guilty Tuesday to sexually abusing two girls in Minot over a decade ago when they were infants or toddlers.

Timothy Sprenger is charged with gross sexual imposition and continuous sexual abuse of a child, both Class A felonies.

According to a probable cause affidavit filed with the court, Sprenger was living with his brother and sister-in-law in Georgia when he wrote an account of the alleged abuse in a journal. Sprenger ripped the journal to shreds and threw it in the trash. His brother found the fragments when he was taking out the garbage, pieced it together and told his wife, who made a report to law enforcement in Georgia. Sprenger allegedly confessed what he had done to law enforcement officials in Georgia and to police in Minot when he was extradited back to North Dakota.

He allegedly exposed himself and touched one of the girls over her clothing on different occasions when she was between the ages of 1 and 3. He acknowledged abusing that child up to 13 times, according to police. He inappropriately fondled the private parts of the other girl on one occasion when she was between the ages of six months and a year old. Sprenger also acknowledged that he is aroused by images of babies and toddlers, Minot Police Detective Cassidy Halseth testified during a preliminary hearing on Tuesday in district court in Minot.

Sprenger’s defense attorney, Kyle Craig, noted that the case is based entirely on Sprenger’s confession and there is no physical evidence. Craig said what Sprenger wrote in the journal could have been pure fantasy. Halseth acknowledged that it might be. The crimes are alleged to have taken place in Minot sometime between September 2004 and January 2009.

Judge Todd Cresap found probable cause to let the case continue. Sprenger could face up to 40 years in prison and $40,000 in fines if convicted of both charges.

A pre-trial conference in the case is scheduled for Feb. 21, 2018.

– Andrea Johnson

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