GRAND FORKS, ND (trfnews.i234.me) – At the conclusion of a preliminary hearing on Friday morning, June 21, in Nelson County court, Judge Kristi Venhuizen dismissed the case against former Dakota Prairie School counselor Brendon Thomas Parsley, 48, who was accused of soliciting, luring, and sexually assaulting students.
Parsley faced three Class C felonies for crimes allegedly committed against two students he counseled. The hearing aimed to determine if there was probable cause to support the charges. North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations Special Agent Derek Madson testified about interviews with the alleged victims, detailing Parsley’s inappropriate conduct.
The solicitation charge involved Parsley allegedly asking one victim to get on his bed. The luring charge stemmed from sexual Facebook messages, and the sexual assault charge related to Parsley making contact with a minor after a session. The solicitation charge was dismissed because the victim was 17, not under 15, at the time of the alleged incident.
State representative Jayme Tenneson requested to amend the charge to solicitation of a minor older than 15, but the defense argued, and the judge agreed, that such amendments should have been made before the hearing. Additionally, discrepancies in the dates of the alleged luring and assault incidents further complicated the case.
The charges were dismissed, though they may be refiled accurately at a later date.