Abshere charged with gross sexual imposition

Kristopher Abshere, 33, was arrested on June 19 in Foster County for allegedly impregnating a 14-year-old girl last summer.

The official charge filed against him is gross sexual imposition of a victim under 15 years old – a Class AA felony.

Carrington Police Chief Christopher Bittmann said the arrest took place with help from the James Valley Special Operations team, and at a bond hearing on Tuesday, Eddy County State's Attorney Ashley Lies added that Abshere had gone into hiding upon learning he was being investigated. When he was eventually located and arrested on June 19, Lies said he was found with firearms.

Abshere appeared via Zoom from the Barnes County Correctional Center for the bond hearing, where he refuted the claim that he had firearms and argued that he's "not a dangerous person at all."

Nevertheless, District Court Judge James Hovey set bail at $10,000 cash, and ordered that he may not make contact with the victim, her child or her parents.

Court documents from the case tell a disturbing story, which began in Carrington while Abshere had been living with the girl and her family since May 2021, and continued when he and the family moved to New Rockford last fall.

Throughout that time, Abshere was allegedly sexually involved with the girl at both locations, and court documents say she became pregnant last summer when she was 14 years old.

"Jane Doe's parents had heard rumors that the defendant was going around bragging about getting a young girl pregnant, and believed he was referring to their daughter," say court documents. "The defendant had been living with Jane Doe's family up until that time, when they kicked the defendant out of their house on or about that date."

The girl gave birth to a baby, who law enforcement allege is Abshere's child, in April of this year.

According to court documents, the girl's father took two cell phones from her in early May, and handed them over to the Eddy County Sheriff's Department with a waiver consenting to their search.

The contents of the phones were reviewed by the N.D. Bureau of Criminal Investigation, and Bittmann interviewed the girl and her mother on May 11 after receiving text messages extracted from the phone.

Court documents say that during the interview, "Jane Doe" admitted to having sexual intercourse with Abshere approximately three times while in Carrington, and that they continued to be "sexually involved" after they moved to New Rockford.

During the interview, Bittmann was also shown Instagram messages sent from Abshere to the girl, in which he appeared to admit he was the father of their child.

A search warrant was obtained for Abshere's Instagram account, and court documents review some of what was discovered.

"On May 11, 2023, they exchanged dozens of messages professing their love for each other," state court documents. "When Jane Doe said she was, 'scared to whats coming next for the 3 of us," the Defendant replied, 'I miss you too. I love you so much.' "

Court documents go on to quote a long text message that Abshere sent to the girl's father on June 1, 2023, in which he reveals that he's in love with his daughter.

The message reads, in part, "Her mentality is very mature her soul is older. I know this may sound crazy but I believe that her and I were destined to find each other."

If found guilty, the maximum penalty for a Class AA felony in the State of North Dakota is life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, while the mandatory minimum sentence is five years' imprisonment and supervised probation of no less than five years and no more than 10 years.

At Tuesday's bond hearing, District Court Judge James Hovey said Abshere would also have to register as a sex offender for no less than 15 years and potentially for the rest of his life.

Abshere used to live in Oregon before moving to North Dakota, and Lies told Hovey that he's a convicted felon in the state of Oregon.

Agencies that assisted in the arrest of Abshere and the investigation into him include the Carrington Police Department, the James Valley Special Operations Team, Foster County Sheriff's Department, Eddy County Sheriff's Department, the N.D. Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the N.D. Highway Patrol.

Abshere's next court appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. on July 11 at the Foster County Courthouse in Carrington. He is considered innocent unless proven guilty.