Jan 8, 2022
The North Dakota Supreme Court has reversed a child abuse conviction for Brent Allen Castleman, 54, of Minot.
Castleman had been convicted of yelling at a woman, holding her by the neck and pushing her face into a pillow in front of a young girl, frightening the child and causing her to shake and cry. The woman recorded the incident and a recording of the child crying was played during Castleman’s trial. The jury subsequently found Castleman guilty of child abuse. Castleman appealed and the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the incident does not qualify as child abuse under state law because the Ward County State’s Attorney’s Office did not prove that there was any lasting effect to the girl’s psychological, emotional, or mental health.
The justices were unanimous in their opinion that the prosecution had not presented enough evidence to sustain the child abuse conviction against Castleman. However, Justices Lisa Fair McEvers and Gerald VandeWalle joined in a concurring opinion that noted the lasting effects of domestic violence on children who witness it.
“There is no separately defined crime of domestic violence under North Dakota law unless a crime otherwise defined is committed in the course of domestic violence,” wrote McEvers. “If the legislature wants to protect children from domestic violence, perhaps it should include exposure of the child to domestic violence as part of the definition of child abuse.”
Northeast District Court Judge Michael Hurly was appointed to hear the case after all of the judges in the North Central Judicial District recused themselves from hearing most of the cases involving Castleman. Hurly sentenced Castleman in January 2021 to 10 years in prison, with five years suspended. Castleman has been serving the sentence at the James River Correctional Facility in Jamestown.
Castleman’s defense lawyer, Kyle Craig, said in an email on Friday that Castleman will now be released because the conviction has been overturned.
“While I am pleased with this decision, and am thankful that the North Dakota Supreme Court made the right call, it unfortunately doesn’t undo several years’ worth of turmoil and suffering that’s been inflicted on Mr. Castleman,” said Craig in the email. “His reputation amongst this community and his relationship with his children have been irreparably damaged by an overzealous State’s Attorney’s office that was hellbent on convicting someone no matter what lines were crossed. Mr. Castleman has been to trial against this office a total of five times for sixteen different charges. With Thursday’s decision, the Ward County State’s Attorney’s office has officially lost every single trial they have ever had with Mr. Castleman. That’s not a fluke, a lucky break, or some kind of loophole. That’s a complete failure of our system and an abuse of the immense power and discretion we give prosecutors. As a tax paying citizen of Ward County myself, it’s alarming to me that our tax dollars go towards financing what appear to be personal vendettas of our state’s attorneys. Our community, and especially Mr. Castleman, deserve better than that.”
Castleman has been acquitted of or had cases dismissed on charges including stalking, domestic violence, child abuse and violation of a no contact order, among others. He was acquitted at trial in district court in Minot last year on unrelated charges of simple assault on an officer, trespass, and resisting arrest.
“The State would point out a jury of 12 people agreed with the State and found the defendant guilty of abusing his child.,” said Ward County State’s Attorney Roza Larson in an email on Friday, in response to the comment made by defense attorney Craig. “This case was overturned specifically due to a legal definition, not previously provided, (ie: a technicality) not due to “innocent hands.” Prior to the Supreme Court defining “mental injury” in this case, there was no legal definition. At the time of the trial the State presented evidence that was available to it. Specifically, the evidence was that the defendant committed domestic violence in the presence of the child.”
Larson pointed out that Justices McEvers and VandeWalle had agreed in their concurring opinion that “this appears to be a classic case of domestic violence which often results in harm to the child.”
Larson echoed McEvers and said in the email that, “It is our hope (the) Legislature can address this specific issue at the next session so such trauma inflicted in the presence of children can be addressed appropriately.”
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