Samuel Mauck-VelasQuez, 23, Minot, will serve about four years in prison for a consensual sexual encounter that turned violent on March 6, 2014.

North Central District Court Judge Stacy Louser sentenced Mauck-VelasQuez to 10 years, with all but four years suspended, followed by six years of supervised probation and registration as a sex offender. He will also be required to obtain sex offender treatment. He will receive credit for 361 days served in the Ward County Jail. He was also sentenced to 365 days for possession of drug paraphernalia. The sentence will run concurrently with the sentence for the sexual assault, a Class A felony.

Mauck-VelasQuez had pleaded guilty to the Class A felony sexual assault last July in exchange for a plea deal that would have called for him to serve just three years in prison, followed by five years of supervised probation. He was allowed to remain out on bond before the sentencing due to his medical problems.

Louser said she decided to give Mauck-VelasQuez more prison time because she was concerned about the results of a pre-sentence investigation that found Mauck-VelasQuez is at high risk to reoffend and hasn’t accepted full responsibility for his actions.

According to an affidavit filed with the court, the female victim was a friend of Mauck-VelasQuez and had consensual sexual relations with him in the past. Mauck-VelasQuez texted the victim and asked her if she wanted to come over to his residence to have sex before she went to work. The woman agreed and went over to Mauck-VelasQuez’s residence. However, when they went into the bedroom and she took off her clothes, Mauck-VelasQuez struck the woman across the face, spit on her and called her names. He then physically forced her to have sex and ignored her when she told him to stop. The victim said she twice tried to leave but both times Mauck-VelasQuez grabbed her and physically forced her to go back to the bed. The victim was able to leave the residence when Mauck-VelasQuez appeared to pass out. She went to a friend’s house and then called the police.

Mauck-VelasQuez’s mother, Angela Christianson of Burlington, testified that her son has sustained multiple head injuries in the past few years that she believes impacted his actions. She said Mauck-VelasQuez suffered concussions when he played high school sports and suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was in a car accident at age 18. He also had a concussion after he was in a four-wheeler accident. Christianson said her son also has a serious problem with drugs and alcohol and his head injuries have interfered with his ability to make good decisions. While he lives independently, she said he has received some help in managing his finances.

“It’s been horrific,” Christianson said. “He was a very happy, athletic, energetic young man … with the whole world at his hands.”

That changed since the accident, she said, adding that the family has tried desperately to get Mauck-VelasQuez help. They sent him to rehabilitation facilities to try and get him help for his drug and alcohol use, said Christianson.

Based on statements made at the sentencing hearing, experts who evaluated Mauck-VelasQuez are concerned that he refuses to fully accept responsibility for what occurred. Assistant State’s Attorney Marie Miller said that, on different occasions, Mauck-VelasQuez told an evaluator that the victim gave that account of events because she was trying to save her job, that the assault was 100 percent his fault and he took full responsibility, and that he is sorry for what happened but wouldn’t say anything to the victim because he did not rape her. Miller said Mauck-VelasQuez shows no sign of remorse and demonstrates poor insight into the nature of his offense.

When the evaluator asked him to name his friends, Mauck-VelasQuez named another sex offender and someone called “Dom Perignon.”

Christianson testified that Mauck-VelasQuez met the other sex offender while he was at the Ward County Jail. She viewed the undesirable connection as a result of the focus on incarceration rather than rehabilitation. Tom Slorby, Mauck-VelasQuez’s defense attorney, said “Dom Perignon” is the nickname of someone Mauck-VelasQuez met on social media and he was not being funny during the pre-sentence investigation.

Upon questioning by Miller, Christianson said her son has never denied that the assault happened, but he did dispute certain elements of the victim’s account.

“I don’t feel that he is a quote, unquote, sex offender,” said Christianson. “He just needs help.”

However, Christianson told Miller that her family will give Mauck-VelasQuez any support he needs, including supporting the goals of sex offender treatment that require him to admit the offense and accept responsibility for it.

Later in the hearing, Miller pointed out that Mauck-VelasQuez told evaluators that he first started using drugs and alcohol when he was 12, so his substance abuse issues pre-date his head injuries.

At different points, Slorby called the pre-sentence investigation “junk science,” “baloney” and said the evaluator did a “slipshod, shoddy job.”

Under state law, gross sexual imposition encompasses a large number of illegal sexual activities, including rape. Slorby said Mauck-VelasQuez’s refusal to call the assault “rape” does not mean he doesn’t accept responsibility for what he did.

“(Sam said) he didn’t rape her, but he does know there was rough sex, which they had before,” Slorby said. “The only difference this time was she changed her mind.”

Miller objected to Slorby’s statement about prior sexual activity between the victim and Mauck-VelasQuez. She said Mauck-VelasQuez had accepted the state’s account of events at the time he made his guilty plea.

“If Mr. Mauck-VelasQuez would like his version to be considered, he needs to take the stand,” said Miller.

Slorby said the details of the victim’s prior relationship with Mauck-VelasQuez was included in the pre-sentence investigation. Slorby said he was asking the judge to take the report with a grain of salt.

Miller said she was there to represent the interests of the victim. What happened to her is “horrendous and horrific,” she said, and her experience should not be diminished and no blame should be placed upon her. Mauck-VelasQuez admitted to forcing her to perform sexual acts, said Miller.

Before the sentence was imposed, Mauck-VelasQuez apologized for any trauma he has caused and for hurting his family.

Louser agreed with Miller and noted that the impact upon the victim will likely be long lasting. She said none of the sentencing factors the state requires a judge to consider before imposing a sentence are in Mauck-VelasQuez’s favor, which was one of the reasons she deviated from the sentencing recommendation.