DEVILS LAKE, N.D. – A former teen volunteer has been charged as an adult in a child sex abuse case that took place at a local daycare center.
On Wednesday, Sept. 16, Ramsey County State’s Attorney Daniel Howell brought forth nine felony charges against Braxton Strande, age 17, who is accused of committing acts of sexual abuse, child abuse and witness tampering while working as a volunteer at Little Goslings Daycare, located on ND Highway 20 south of Devils Lake, ND. The director of the facility was not available for comment as this story goes to press.
According to charging documents, over the past four years, Strande is alleged to have sexually abused six girls ranging at the time from three to ten years of age. He also allegedly once bodily threw one of the victims across a play area inside the daycare center, causing her to land in a trash pile and injure her knee.
Strande is also alleged to have threatened to bully a boy, age eight or nine, who was a witness in two of the incidents, wherein the boy feared for his safety and didn’t report Strande to adults.
Strande has been charged with six counts of gross sexual imposition against a victim under 15, a class A felony, continuous sexual abuse of a child, a class A felony, child abuse of a victim under 6, a class B felony, and witness tampering to withhold testimony or evidence, a class C felony. Howell confirmed that thus far, Strande is not in custody.