Richard Thompson

A Minot man who had previously pled guilty to 10 child porn-related felonies was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in district court on Friday.

Richard Lyle Thompson, 46, Minot, appeared before North Central District Judge Richard Hagar months after changing his plea earlier in the year. The court reviewed the ordered pretrial investigation and psychiatric evaluation of Thompson and heard sentencing recommendations and statements from both parties.

Deputy State’s Attorney Tiffany Sorgen raised a concern with the court over the inclusion of credit for time served in the sentence, as Thompson is currently serving time at the DOCR due to violating the conditions of probation from a prior case involving similar charges, which he had entered an Alford Plea for in late 2021. Sorgen noted the deal in the 2017 case was not one she entered without consternation, as that prior case had fallen apart after a witness could not be located before trial.

Thompson’s probation was revoked in January 2022 after a cyber tip was sent to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which led to a search of a residence and his arrest. Thompson was charged with 21 Class A felony counts of promoting or directing sexual performance by a minor and 21 Class C felony counts of possessing prohibited materials. The plea deal agreed to by the parties saw all but five of the Class A felonies and five of the Class C felonies dismissed.

Sorgen recommended a sentence of 20 years for the five Class A felonies, with all to be served consecutively with the sentence Thompson is currently serving, that he federally registers as a sex offender and pay $1,025 in court costs. For the five Class C felonies, Sorgen asked for five years suspended with three years of supervisory probation consecutive to the A felonies in the case, with sex offender registration required. Sorgen also asked for the forfeiture of the devices that contained the child sexual abuse material for destruction.

Thompson’s attorney Robert Bolinske spoke on his client’s behalf, asking the court to take into consideration Thompson’s engagement with therapy and treatment for his substance abuse addictions while at the DOCR. Bolinske said he hoped a more lenient sentence would allow Thompson to have enough time left to repair his relationship with his children, telling the court that he felt his client was sincere.

“There’s no good argument to be made in a case of this type with these facts and these circumstances. With the sentence that Richard was given a couple years ago, how that worked out, how that ended, he blew that. It is what it is,” Bolinske said. “The last conversation I had with him, he said, ‘I needed to hit rock bottom. This was the best thing that ever happened to me.’ In a case of this type, this five-year minimum mandatory, in my opinion, is a sufficient sentence to punish and rehabilitate.”

Thompson was given a chance to speak and largely echoed these sentiments, blaming his abuse of drugs and alcohol for fueling his actions. Thompson reiterated to the court that he was committed to his treatment and his goal of completing a yearlong fellowship program called Pathways. Thompson’s mother and other family members were present in court to support him.

“I’ve lived carelessly in the past. I lost people that I loved. I’m putting in the work doing what I can to take advantage of whatever additional time I get. I can assure you, it won’t be squandered,” Thompson said.

Sorgen was given a chance to respond and make the case for her sentence recommendation and rebuke his appeals as insincere, given his track record.

“Mr. Thompson is not a victim. He has victimized an awful lot of people in all of this,” Sorgen said. “He has blamed drugs and alcohol abuse, essentially saying he’s addicted to pornography. Your honor I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years, and never once in any kind of PSI or psychological evaluation have I seen anyone ever diagnosed with pedophilic disorder. And Mr. Thompson thinks that in just a few short years, everything is going to be hunky dory?”

Sorgen then cited the 21 images of child sexual abuse material, showing children as young as five years old being abused and exploited, that she would have presented at the trial, saying there were even more that detectives had to review besides that.

“I can tell you these images are going to haunt me for the rest of my life. Looking into the dead, unfeeling eyes of these children. Mr. Thompson violated the terms of a sweetheart deal I had to venture into,” Sorgen said. “Trust me, I didn’t want to enter into that deal, but I really had no choice. As Mr. Bolinske said, he squandered it. He violated it within 90 days. Society needs to be protected from him.”

Hagar responded to Thompson, saying that his actions had shaken the faith of those who hope that the legal system can lead to rehabilitation and renewal for those who travel through it. Hagar ultimately ruled in favor of the state’s recommendation.

“I was floored when this came back around for revocation. It really does weigh on a person’s belief, on their want to believe that someone can change,” Hagar said. “I keep going back to the occasions when we’ve been down this road before. I don’t really have a lot of empathy for you, and I really should. I consider myself a Christian man, and that’s a part of it, along with understanding. In my job as judge, that’s a big part of it. But sometimes there’s situations where that’s just not enough.”