A Stanley man has been sentenced to three years with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation after pleading guilty to sexual assault and tampering with witnesses.

Paul Christopher Valdez, 46, entered a change of plea in North Central District Court on Friday, Sept. 6, pleading guilty to one count of sexual assault involving a victim aged 15-18 and defendant aged 22 or older and one count of tampering with witnesses-influence testimony, both Class C felonies. A Class A felony count of gross sexual imposition-sexual contact with victim younger than 15 was dismissed in accordance with a plea agreement.

According to court documents, Valdez was charged in March after the victim reported he had touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions beginning in the summer of 2024. The tampering charge arose from an investigation into Valdez’s communications from the Mountrail County Correctional Center in April to another individual, wherein he directed the person to convince witnesses in the case to provide a letter to the court stating the juvenile victim was lying.

According to the affidavit of probable cause, Valdez directed two individuals to offer a witness $50 in exchange for writing the letter on his behalf to have the case against him thrown out. Valdez further claimed in a phone call with a household member of the witness that the court wanted him to press charges, which he wouldn’t pursue if the witness wrote the letter.

District Judge Richard Hagar sentenced Valdez to a concurrent sentence of five years with the Department of Corrections, with two years suspended pending the completion of five years of supervised probation. Valdez was given credit for 182 days served. Valdez was ordered to have no contact with the victim and to register as a sex offender. He also was assessed $125 in court fines and fees.