Jury finds Grand Forks man guilty of sexually abusing a child

Mar. 8—A jury has found a Grand Forks man guilty of all counts of sexually abusing a child. The jury deliberated for a little more than two hours before unanimously finding David Walter Gaddie guilty of the four charges against him.

Gaddie, 38, is scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing on June 17, after a presentence investigation has been completed. He faces a maximum penalty of two life sentences without parole for gross sexual imposition with a victim younger than 15 and a defendant older than 22, and two 20-year sentences and two $20,000 fines for gross sexual imposition with a victim younger than 15.

According to court documents, Gaddie sexually assaulted a juvenile, identified as Jane Doe, on multiple occasions while she was in the second and third grades. Police were notified of the assaults after the juvenile told a school counselor about the incidents.

She was forensically interviewed in January 2020, and in February 2020 she made additional disclosures to police about other instances of assaults by Gaddie, documents say.

A search warrant was executed on Gaddie's residence around that time, according to documents, where police found a blanket matching the juvenile's description of the one used to cover her head during the assaults. The blanket was seized as evidence.

On the witness stand on Friday, March 5, Gaddie maintained his innocence, and insinuated to the jury that the allegations were orchestrated by the child's mother, though he stopped short of accusing her outright when directly questioned about it.

But Cass County Assistant State's Attorney Ryan Younggren questioned what benefits Gaddie believed Doe and her family had reaped since she had disclosed the assaults.

"I don't see anything for (Doe) to gain here," he said. "I mean, to throw these allegations around like Halloween candy is almost insane for her, what she lost in this case. ... She hasn't gained a thing, sir. She's only lost since coming forward."

In closing arguments, Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Renata June Olafson Selzer referred to testimony that Doe had confided in the adults in her life about the assaults. When adults didn't report them, she told two close friends at school, who urged her to tell a counselor. One friend testified that after Doe disclosed the assault to her, she was so concerned she went home and broke down.

"Those girls did the thing that the adults in (Doe's) life unfortunately failed to do," Selzer said.