The family of a boy prosecutors say was sexually abused for six years by a Larimore, N.D., man say they are concerned that the man was able to bail out of jail last week.
Adam Scott Hamilton, 33, Larimore, was arrested in December and charged with the continuous sexual abuse of the boy before he was 13.
The charge is a AA felony with a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole because of the ages of the alleged victim and perpetrator.
Hamilton appeared Thursday in state district court in Grand Forks to ask District Judge Joel Medd to reduce his bond.
Since his arrest in December, Hamilton had been in the Grand Forks County jail under $10,000 cash or surety -- or secured -- bond, set by state District Judge Debbie Kleven, who also had ordered him to have no contact with the boy.
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At the hearing Thursday, Hamilton, through his attorney, Blake Hankey, asked Judge Medd to reduce bail to an unsecured $5,000 bond; that would allow him to bail out by paying the court 10 percent, or $500.
Clean record
"He has a completely clean criminal history with no 'failure to appears,' no bail-jumping, nothing to give any (indication) that he is not going to make his court appearances," Hankey said. "And pursuant to his bond conditions, there is a 'no-contact' order, so there can't be any communication, written or verbal or by any medium, with the alleged victim."
Hankey said Hamilton "has a good background, with an honorable discharge from the Air Force and he worked as a civilian contractor, as an employee of the U.S. government, doing good things for his country. All those things argue that his bond needs to be a reasonable amount."
But the prosecutor, Jason McCarthy, an assistant state's attorney for Grand Forks County, said he asked Judge Medd last Thursday to increase the bond to $25,000 cash or surety. That's the same bond his office first requested at Hamilton's initial court appearance in December and is warranted because of the nature of the allegations, McCarthy said this week.
According to the early prosecution documents filed in the case, Hamilton admitted to investigators that he had sexually assaulted the child multiple times over six years in residences in Cass and Grand Forks counties.
Medd denied both requests Thursday for changing the bond and kept it at $10,000 cash or surety.
Contrasting case
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On Saturday, Hamilton bailed out of jail, after obtaining the services of a bond company which took collateral and 10 percent of the bond in return for guaranteeing his appearance at upcoming court hearings, Hankey said.
Hamilton is scheduled to appear April 19 in court in Grand Forks for a pre-trial conference.
Hankey said Hamilton consistently has said he is not guilty of the charge and deserves the presumption of innocence.
The relative of the boy, who asked for anonymity from the Herald to protect the boy's identity, said family members fear what Hamilton might do now that he's out of jail.
The family has been outraged by what they see as a low bond amount and contrasted it to a recent case of a Lutheran pastor charged jailed in Minnesota under a much higher bond, the relative said.
The Rev. Darwin Frederick Schauer, 70, was arraigned last week in Park Rapids, Minn., on several counts of sexually assaulting a teenage girl since early 2009. He was jailed on $1 million unconditional bond or $750,000 conditional bond and remains in the Hubbard County jail in Park Rapids, a jail spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Reach Lee at (701) 780-1237; (800) 477-6572, ext. 237; or send email to slee@gfherald.com .
