May 02, 2007 - 04:12:28 CDT
A criminal trespass charge filed against a convicted sex offender has been dismissed.James Bjarko, 76, was charged with the Class C felony in October after neighbors on the 1100 block of Summit Boulevard accused him of leaving a bag of stuffed toys in the bedroom of their children when they were out of their home.
Police said Bjarko gave a Bismarck couple a table and chairs, and offered them a bag of stuffed animals on Oct. 5 when they moved into their apartment. The couple told him their children had enough toys, but later found a bag of toys in their daughters' bedroom.
The parents contacted police after learning that Bjarko is a registered sex offender. Bjarko had been slated to stand trial for the charge on Tuesday.
Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Lloyd Suhr moved to have the charge dismissed on April 23. South Central District Judge Donald Jorgensen signed the motion for dismissal on Monday, according to court documents.
Suhr said the charge was dropped after he received an affidavit from the landlord of the apartment building, which said Bjarko had permission to be in the apartment.
The family in the case was moving into the apartment in October, and the landlord had given Bjarko permission to be in the apartment to complete some painting and maintenance work, Suhr said. He said the landlord's affidavit "would have been, obviously, an issue at trial."
According to the North Dakota Century Code, felony criminal trespass refers to a person entering or remaining in a dwelling or highly secured premises when he is not privileged or licensed to do so. The landlord's affidavit shows that Bjarko did have permission to be in the apartment, Suhr said.
"I think that does ... present significant questions in respect to whether he had permission to be in there," he said.
Bjarko has been convicted of several sex offenses. His most recent conviction was for gross sexual imposition in Williams County in 1999. That charge was for molesting 6-year-old and 13-year-old girls after he had completed sex offender treatment.
He also was convicted of sexual assault in Sheridan County District Court in 1985 for fondling a 6-year-old girl and causing her to engage in oral sex with him.
In 1986, he was convicted of assault in Montana for inappropriate conduct with a 11-year-old girl while he was driving his car with another little girl sitting on his lap.
Bjarko is in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Dec. 11 for probation violations, including the October incident in Bismarck. Authorities said a search of Bjarko's apartment also turned up a pornographic video, which is a probation violation.
Suhr said Bjarko's current sentence coupled with his age were factors in deciding to drop the trespass charge. The charge will not be refiled, he said.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)
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