Trial for former LaMoure police chief accused of sexual abuse of a child begins

James G. Watson, 52 of LaMoure, faces the following charges:

• Golden Valley County: One count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a Class AA felony.

• Hettinger County: One count of gross sexual imposition, a Class AA felony.

• Stark County: One count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, a Class AA felony.

Watson appeared in front of Southwest District Court Judge William Herauf along with his attorney, Kevin McCabe, at the Golden Valley Courthouse in Beach for the Golden Valley case.

After spending the entire morning questioning potential jurors, it was determined that an additional four jurors from the county would need to be questioned. Golden Valley sheriff's officers were tasked with finding those jurors.

After returning from lunch, juror selection continued until mid-afternoon when a 12-person jury was selected. Golden Valley State's Attorney Christina Wenko and McCabe then gave their opening statements.

In her opening statement, Wenko spoke of "a horrific story of abuse that begins when (the victim) is 7 years old ... and how it continued until she turned 18."

Wenko said the case is unique because the alleged abuse wasn't immediately reported. She said the victim, who is now in her early 20s, would tell the jury why she did not report the abuse sooner and said there would likely be "inconsistencies" because it may be difficult for her to be specific in her recollections.

In McCabe's opening statement, he claimed the victim "fabricated" the sexual assault charges against Watson "because she is a young lady with a lot of anger and a lot of hate in her heart." McCabe reiterated the sentiment multiple times in his opening statement, claiming the allegations are "just lies" and "fake news."

McCabe noted that jurors should only consider what allegedly happened in Golden Valley County from fall 2011 to January 2012 and nothing before or after that.

Wenko called her first witness, Mark "Olie" Golberg, to the stand after opening statements. Golberg owns Buffalo Gap Ranch, where the alleged abuse occurred. He mostly answered questions about the layout of the ranch home.

Watson and his wife were employed at the ranch and lived there. Golberg said he met the alleged victim, but did not know her well. He said the alleged victim never said anything to him about abuse happening at the home.

Wenko called the alleged victim to the stand after Golberg's testimony. The victim answered questions about her life growing up in Pearl, Miss., and described her home life as "terrifying." She said she moved with her family to North Dakota in 2011 after the Mississippi home was foreclosed on.

McCabe objected when Wenko began to ask the victim when the alleged abuse by Watson started in Mississippi. McCabe said that information was not relevant to the Golden Valley case.

Wenko attempted to provide previous case law on the matter and argued that the background is important because it shows how the defendant allegedly "groomed" his victim to become "complicit" later on. McCabe again argued that the case should only include Golden Valley County.

After some deliberation, Judge Herauf moved to recess for the day in order to make a decision about whether he would allow testimony about the alleged acts in Mississippi. The case will resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 1.