A Stanley man made his initial appearance in Burke County on Thursday, Sept. 11, for six counts of gross sexual imposition involving a victim under the age of 15, a Class AA felony.

Kenneth Swan Mariner, 39, appeared via ITV for the hearing in North Central District Court, before District Judge Steven Lautt.

According to court documents, Mariner is accused of sexually abusing a juvenile victim during a seven year period beginning in 2013. The victim reported the abuse to a Stanley Police officer on Feb. 12. The abuse allegation was detailed in a subsequent forensic interview at the Northern Plains Children’s Advocacy Center in Stanley and in an interview with a North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation agent.

Mariner allegedly abused the juvenile, “almost every night” according to the affidavit, and instructed the victim to keep it a secret from household members. According to the affidavit, the abuse occurred at residences in Renville and Burke counties.

Mariner is in custody at the Mountrail County Correctional Center. Lautt ordered a cash or corporate surety bond of $50,000.