The latest hearing for ex-Devils Lake Police Officer Rey Hennen held via Zoom at Courtroom 1 in the Ramsey County Courthouse on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. revealed seven new charges for the defendant, including one for felony sexual assault.
Judge Anthony S. Benson, a district court judge for the Northeast District, presided over the hearing remotely from the Bottineau County Courthouse. Acting as prosecutor, Assistant Attorney General Kathleen Murray appeared remotely from her office at the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck. Appointed defense attorney Ulysses Jones was present at the Ramsey County Courthouse while his client Hennen appeared from Cass County Jail; Hennen is currently being held at a state hospital in Fargo for psychiatric evaluation.
After reviewing Hennen’s rights, Judge Benson summarized the new charges against Hennen, in addition to the previous charges of Reckless Endangerment with a Firearm and Terrorizing of an Adult Victim.
The first count listed by Benson was Gross Sexual Imposition by Force, a class AA felony, alleging that Hennen willfully compelled a victim, identified only as “Jane Doe,” to submit to a sexual act by force.
The maximum possible penalty for this alleged offense is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; the minimum possible penalty is a minimum 20-year term imposed, but with certain findings it could be reduced to no less than five years in custody.
The next two counts listed were of Neglect of a Child, a class C felony, alleging there was risk of bodily injury to one child when the gross sexual imposition by force was occurring, as well as when Hennen was threatening to commit suicide with a firearm; a second child is alleged to have been exposed to possible harm and domestic violence, such that they had to be evacuated from the residence.
The fourth count Benson reviewed was Deceptive Writings, a class C felony, alleging that between Aug. 25 and Sept. 9, Hennen intended to deceive Jane Doe while under the color of his office, providing deceptive writings to the Rolette County Housing Authority, knowing that the information was false.
The fifth count listed was Burglary, a class C felony, alleging that between Aug. 1 and Aug. 27, Hennen willfully entered Jane Doe’s dwelling with the intent to commit a crime therein.
For each class C felony, the maximum possible penalty is up to five years in prison or a fine of $10,000 or some combination thereof; minimum possible penalty are administrative fees in the amount of $525, and if there was any loss occasioned by the conduct, there is a requirement to provide restitution.
The sixth count Benson went over was False Information to Law Enforcement, a Class A Misdemeanor, alleging that from Aug. 27 to Sept. 8, Hennen gave false information to Devils Lake Police Officers, regarding the alleged burglary that he knew to be false, that may have materially misled the officers.
The seventh and final new count that Benson reviewed was Stalking, a Class A Misdemeanor, alleging that sometime around the week before Sept. 8, Hennen engaged in a course of conduct directed at Jane Doe, including using AirTags to track her location as well as showing up at a separate apartment.
The maximum penalty for each class A misdemeanor is up to 360 days in jail, a fine of up to $3000 or a combination thereof; minimum possible penalty for each misdemeanor is administrative fees in the amount of $325.
Benson asked Hennen if he understood the nature of the charges against him and the possible corresponding penalties as well as his rights. Hennen responded that he conferred with his defense attorney Jones earlier before the hearing who explained the charges and penalties. Hennen also confirmed that he understood his rights as explained by Benson.
Discussion then turned to motions already filed by Jones that are still pending for the earlier charges to determine fitness and responsibility, as well as the two bonds requested in the earlier hearings ($25,000 and $75,000 cash as surety, making it a total of $100,000 bond) for the previous charges.
Responding to the motions to determine fitness and responsibility, prosecuting attorney Murray said that determining fitness and responsibility should be separate decisions and not done jointly and if the request for fitness and responsibility applies to every charge that Hennen faces. She requested time to provide a formal written response to said motions. “We’re not stipulating or agreeing that he is unfit or that he lacks responsibility, but we’re not opposed to allowing for evaluation.”
Also, according to Murray, the proposed order has a 72-hour deadline, and she has concerns about having enough time to sift through an enormous amount of video evidence uncovered in the case, at least 250 gigabytes in size, perhaps more, which has yet to be shared as part of discovery and also provide a copy to the state hospital evaluating Hennen, which is likely to take much longer than three days.
Murray will also be out of the country on vacation for the last week of October whereupon her return, she will start a jury trial for another case from Nov. 3 to Nov 7. “I do ask the court to give us some consideration,” she said.
Benson said that Murray would be allowed the time to file a formal response. Jones requested that once the prosecution’s response has been filed, another hearing be held to address any issues that may arise for the defense from that response.
Returning to the separate filings for earlier bonds, Judge Benson proposed a universal bond to cover all the filings.
Murray requested a global bond of $500,000 cash in surety, given the new charges involved and concerns about a safety risk and a flight risk, with the conditions that were already addressed, continuing with the stipulation that Hennen have no contact with the alleged victims in the case. However, Murray alleged that Hennen may have directed family members to contact them in his stead, citing phone calls made by Hennen from jail to request that family members contact the alleged victims; after further questioning from Jones, Murray confirmed that said phone calls were prior and after Jones was appointed as Hennen’s attorney.
Jones responded that he was not aware of any alleged contact from outside individuals and that Hennen was made well aware that any such contact to be made on his behalf must come through Jones. Jones also reminded the court that the charges against his client remain allegations and that Hennen has no previous criminal history, so the attorney asserted that a bond in the amount of $50,000 cash as surety should be sufficient.
However, Judge Benson pointed out that said allegations led to the judge signing a warrant on the charges, as he felt there was probable cause. With that in mind, and also expressing concern that Hennen’s only place to stay was with relatives in Minnesota outside of the state, Benson ruled that Hennen must pay a global bond of $300,000 cash as surety, with the stipulations that he have no contact with Jane Doe or other alleged victims in the case, maintain contact with his attorney, not leave the state of North Dakota prior to approval of the court, provide all information about the location of his living arrangements in Minnesota, regularly check in with the Ramsey Sheriff’s Office, observe prohibitions against possessing firearms and using alcohol or any controlled substance unless prescribed by a physician. Hennen must also submit to random testing and checks to determine he is obeying all stipulations. A refusal to submit to these stipulations will result in immediate arrest.
The next Zoom hearing is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 4 p.m., with the same Zoom ID number and password as before.
