FARGO — A Moorhead man will spend less than a year in jail for sexually assaulting an incapacitated woman he helped carry from a hotel bar to a room in Fargo.
Brent Heltera Flattum-Riemers, 34, was sentenced Monday, June 22, in Cass County District Court to 20 years in prison for a Class A felony count of gross sexual imposition, the maximum penalty for the charge. Judge Steven Marquardt suspended all but 360 days, meaning Flattum-Riemers will spend less than a year in the Cass County Jail.
The case stems from a July 22, 2018, rape report at the Biltmore Hotel and Suites, 3800 Main Ave.
The female victim was drinking at O’Kelly’s bar inside the hotel. Video shows a bartender and Flattum-Riemers helping the woman to a hotel room, according to court documents. The bartender told police the woman was “no longer responding” when they put her in the room.
The victim recalled getting ready to leave the bar, but the next thing she remembered was waking up to Flattum-Riemers having sex with her, according to court documents.
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Flattum-Riemers told police the woman agreed to get a hotel room and that they had sex, court documents stated.
The defendant entered an Alford plea, meaning he does not admit guilt but agrees he could be found guilty at trial.
The victim, prosecution and defense agreed the sentence was appropriate, prosecutor Renata Olafson Selzer said. The defense requested home-monitoring instead of jail time, which Marquardt denied.
Flattum-Riemers must complete five years of supervised probation. If he violates the conditions of his plea agreement, he could be resentenced to the maximum prison term. He also must register as a sex offender.
