Dimick and Hauck face serious criminal charges in Southwest District Court

Jason R. O'Day, The Dickinson Press, N.D.
Updated ·3 min read

Feb. 2—DICKINSON, N.D. — Two individuals, Daniel Dimick and Samantha Hauck, appeared in Southwest District Court on Monday to face a range of criminal charges. The arraignment, which is the first step in a criminal trial, marked the formal reading of the charges against both individuals and the setting of their bond amounts.

Daniel Dimick, 63, of Rapid City, S.D. was charged with two counts of Class AA felony Gross Sexual Imposition (GSI) and one count of Class C felony Terrorizing. The charges against Dimick are related to an alleged incident in 2015 involving a 15-year-old girl. Court documents obtained by The Dickinson Press outline allegations that Dimick engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with the victim and threatened her if she spoke out about the abuse.

If convicted, Dimick could face a minimum sentence of five years in prison, as outlined in ND Century Code. The gravity of the situation and the involvement of a minor in the alleged crime has not been lost on the Stark County State's Attorney Amanda Engelstad, who described the case as "egregious."

Samantha Hauck, 21, appeared in court on Monday and was charged with Class A felonies of Theft Over $50,000 and Forgery or Counterfeiting. The charges relate to a fraud scheme where Hauck is alleged to have loaded money on gift cards with monetary value without paying for them in an effort to defraud her employer of more than $50,000. The incidents are alleged to have been perpetrated between Apr. 1 and Sept. 15 of 2022, while employed at a Dickinson-area business. Hauck's coworker, Michael Shawn Davis, 42, was also charged with Class C felonies of Theft and Forgery or Counterfeiting in relation to the scheme. Davis allegedly stole more than $1,000 in gift cards.

Charges against a third individual in this case were dismissed by Judge Rhonda Ehlis on Jan. 9.

The upcoming pretrial conference and subsequent jury trial for Dimick's case were initially slated to be presided over by District Judge Rhonda Ehlis, however, the defense attorney Kevin McCabe successfully filed a motion with the court requesting a change of judge. The case will now be presided over by Judge William Herauf.

Dimick remains in the custody of the Southwest Multi-County Correctional Center with a bond set at $25,000 and without a plea agreement, or change of plea, is expected to appear in court on Mar. 14 for his pretrial conference, followed by a potential jury trial on Mar. 29.

Hauck is also scheduled to appear for her pretrial conference on the same date and will likely face a jury trial on the same date as Dimick.

In the interest of protecting the integrity of ongoing investigations, prosecutors often decline to comment on on-going cases in order to avoid compromising the case or influencing public opinion. Engelstad and Stark County Assistant State's Attorney Amy Pikovsky both declined to comment when asked for additional information.