Becker County (trfnews.i234.me) – Three felony criminal sexual conduct charges against a Frazee man have been dismissed in Becker County District Court after a judge ruled the statute of limitations had expired.
According to court documents, 58-year-old Troy Ray Gibson of Frazee was charged in 2024 after two women reported abuse that took place when they were children living in his home. One of the women told investigators the abuse began when she was potty training and continued until she was removed from the home and placed in foster care in 2010. Another reported that Gibson began abusing her when she was three or four years old, and that it continued until she was about eight.
Investigators also spoke with the children’s mother, who stated that she ended her relationship with Gibson in 2009. She told authorities she worked nights at a bar and recalled seeing troubling situations between Gibson and one of the girls on several occasions.
Gibson denied all allegations and told investigators that the children were removed from the home because of physical discipline by their mother and himself.
Judge Michelle Lawson dismissed the charges on July 25, 2025. In her ruling, she cited Minnesota law, which requires that prosecution for criminal sexual conduct involving minors must begin within nine years of the offense or three years of a report to authorities. Court records show the abuse was reported to Becker County Child Protection in 2010.
“The statute of limitations expired on Dec. 7, 2018, which is the later of the two,” Lawson wrote. “The State did not file its initial complaint until Aug. 27, 2024 — nearly six years after the nine-year limitation expired.”
As a result, the charges were deemed untimely and dismissed.
For more information on Minnesota law regarding statutes of limitations, visit the Minnesota Legislature website.
I’m Chris Harper reporting for TRF News
