Jan 15, 2008 - 04:05:31 CST
A Jamestown man faces three Class Cfelony charges in Stutsman and Burleigh counties for an alleged relationship seven years ago with a teenage girl.Charles Furan, 55, was charged Jan. 3 in Stutsman County with corruption of a minor and sexual assault. He was charged the same day in Burleigh County with corruption or solicitation of minors.
Furan made his first court appearance in the Burleigh County case Monday at the Burleigh County Courthouse. South Central District Judge Gail Hagerty set bond for him at $1,000 cash.
Jamestown Police Lt. John Gletne said the alleged victim, now 22, came forward in recent months with allegations of a sexual relationship between her and Furan, a family friend, that occurred in 2001.
According to a complaint filed in the Burleigh County case, the victim was 14 or 15 years old in 2001 when she and Furan allegedly engaged in a sex act in Menoken.
Burleigh County Sheriff's Cpl. Tracy Nelson said the victim lived in Menoken at that time. Other acts allegedly occurred in Jamestown.
The Jamestown Police Department investigated the claims and forwarded information to the Burleigh County Sheriff's Department, Nelson said.
Gletne said he did not know why the woman came forward with the allegations after so many years.
Nelson said the statute of limitations on child sex abuse cases begins when an offense is reported, not when an offense occurs.
(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com.)

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