BENSON -- Gary Wayne Rudningen, 60, of Murdock, pleaded guilty Wednesday to an amended charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct for assaulting a then 15-year-old girl in his home last May.
As part of a plea agreement reached in Swift County District Court, the charge was reduced from a first-degree felony and another first-degree felony will be dismissed. According to Swift County Attorney Robin Finke, Rudningen will receive a five-year stay of adjudication on his sentence. That means that if he complies with the conditions, the conviction will not appear on his record.
Judge David L. Mennis ordered Rudningen to complete a sex offender evaluation before sentencing, which is set for July 30. The case had been set for a jury trial next week.
The charges were filed in August after a Swift County Human Services child protection agent and sheriff's deputy interviewed the girl and her mother regarding the alleged incident. The girl, who is now 16, told authorities that she used to stay at Rudningen's home while her mother was at work. She said she had stayed over at the home for years and that everything was fine until that night.
According to the complaint, the girl told the investigators that Rudningen approached her while they watched TV, kissed her and asked her to sit with him. She said she was scared and refused. She said he persisted, placed his hand down her shorts and sexually assaulted her. He then told her "don't let any boys do that to you," the complaint states.
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The girl reported the incident to her mother when she returned two days later.
