Glende waives preliminary hearing in district court
Pleads not guilty to 12 GSI charges
DuWayne C. Glende, 65, of Grafton waived his preliminary hearing on Monday in Northeast District Court. He was arraigned on 12 gross sexual imposition (GSI) charges, of which he pled not guilty.
North-east District Court Judge John T. McClintock Jr. of Rugby presided over the proceeding via IVAN, an interactive video conferencing system. Glende was present in the courtroom with his attorney Steven M. Light in the Walsh County Courthouse. Walsh County State’s Attorney Barb Whelan was also present.The alleged sexual acts first occurred in July of 1986 with the most recent act claimed to occur in June of 2009 and involved three minor females. The crimes allegedly occurred when they where younger than 10, but not older than 13.
Nine of the GSI charges are Class A felonies, which carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and or $10,000 fine.
The remaining three charges are Class AA felonies and carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. These counts involve a victim that was born in 1998 with the alleged acts occurring between the years 2007 through 2009.
Currently, Glende is being held in the Walsh County Law Enforcement Center on a $250,000 cash only bond. His Attorney Light discussed bond with Judge McClintock, who agreed to address the possible reduction of bond through written motion. No preliminary court dates or motion deadlines were set, except for the matter of bond.
The cumulative years of the 12 GSI charges, if convicted could add up to three life terms on the AA felonies and 180 years on the Class A felonies if charged the maximum sentence on each count to be served consecutively. The fines could total more than $90,000. If convicted he would also have to register as a sex offender for life.