Grand Forks man pleads not guilty to gross sexual imposition and burglary

GRAND FORKS – A Grand Forks man charged with gross sexual imposition and burglary pleaded not guilty on Monday, Feb. 27.

Lance Visnar Oliveros, 25, was arrested in December before being released on bond.

Oliveros was arraigned and pleaded not guilty to the charges, which are Class A felony gross sexual imposition “victim unaware” and Class B felony burglary. Class A felonies have a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $20,000 in fines.

According to an affidavit in the case, a woman at a party in Grand Forks asked her friend for a ride back to her dorm at the Air Force Base. Her friend called when he arrived, but a man, later identified as Oliveros, answered the phone and instructed the friend where to pick up himself and the woman, the affidavit said.

Oliveros claimed to live in the same dorm building as the woman, but Detective Jacob Lanes testified Oliveros does not live on the Air Force base.

“Surveillance footage collected from the building showed Lance Oliveros walking with the victim and the driver into the building, and to the dorm rooms. The victim repeatedly mistook Oliveros for the driver of the vehicle, and was unable to identify her own room, as indicated by surveillance footage,” the affidavit said.

The affidavit said Oliveros could be seen continuously touching the woman, and attempting to enter her room.

“[The friend] kind of pushed [Oliveros] backwards, three or four times,” Lanes said.

The friend led Oliveros away from the woman’s room and to a different floor of the dormitory, the affidavit said. Oliveros was seen knocking on a door before entering, and leaving after “a few minutes,” the affidavit said. He then entered the woman’s room, according to the affidavit.

Oliveros’ attorney, Theodore Thomas Sandberg, asked if it was possible the woman opened the door, but Lanes said he observed Oliveros turning the knob and opening the door in surveillance footage.

According to Lanes’ testimony, the woman said she only remembered asking for a ride home and waking up the next morning, partially naked and in pain. She alleged Oliveros was in her bed. She did not invite him into her room, the affidavit said.

There was blood on the woman’s mattress, which was tested for DNA. According to the affidavit, Oliveros “had a probability of a match to the DNA collected.”

Oliveros’ final dispositional conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on May 11.