A California man has pleaded not guilty to gross sexual imposition.

Bayland Rippenkroeger, 20, entered the plea after a preliminary hearing in which South Central District Judge Bruce Romanick found probable cause that the crime had occurred.

Rippenkroeger, a University of Mary student and a running back on the Marauders' football team, was charged with the Class AA felony for allegedly forcing an 18-year-old Bismarck woman to have sex with him at a party in Bismarck in January.

Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Brandi Sasse Russell called Bismarck Police Detective Mark Gaddis to the stand during the hearing. Gaddis said he was called to the St. Alexius Medical Center emergency room on the morning of Jan. 20 for a report of a possible sexual assault.

He said he spoke to the alleged victim, who told him that Rippenkroeger led her into a bathroom at the home where the party took place and undressed her.

"She said she told him no, that she was drunk," Gaddis said.

He said she reported drinking 6½ or 7 ounces of vodka and a couple shots of Malibu at the party.

Gaddis said she said Rippenkroeger held her arm and grabbed a condom. She remembered him taking the condom off and then leaving, Gaddis said.

"She said afterwards he got dressed and told her not to tell anyone and left the bathroom," he said.

He said the woman could identify her alleged assailant only as "Bayland" and knew that he was on the football team. Police identified Rippenkroeger and brought him to the police department, Gaddis said.

He said Rippenkroeger told him the woman led him into the bathroom, and they undressed each other. Rippenkroeger said they had consensual sex, Gaddis said.

"He said that she seemed cool about this," he said.

Lindsey Haugen, Rippenkroeger's defense attorney, called Tisha Scheuer, a U-Mary nursing instructor and a certified sexual assault nurse examiner, and six U-Mary students.

Scheuer said she performed a sexual assault examination on the alleged victim after interviewing her about what had happened. Scheuer said the woman had injuries, including redness, swelling, tearing and abrasions, on multiple parts of her genital area, which corroborated her statement about being sexually assaulted.

The woman did not report feeling any physical pain, but that's not unusual, Scheuer said.

"Everybody reacts differently," she said. "It does not speak to the severity of the injuries."

Haugen asked if the types of injuries that the woman sustained could occur with consensual sex. Scheuer said it could happen, "but in this case, no." Injuries do not occur in multiple areas of the genitals with consensual sex, she said.

The U-Mary students, all of whom had contact with the alleged victim at the party or after she left it, testified to differing opinions of the woman's level of intoxication. Several described her as "tipsy," while others said she was definitely intoxicated. Several people said that the woman first told people at the party she had had sex in the bathroom with Rippenkroeger and later changed her story and said he had raped her.

Some witnesses at the party said the woman was acting flirtatious towards various men at the party and made sexual comments.

Sasse Russell said following the testimony that no one could testify as to what took place in the bathroom except the woman and Rippenkroeger, and nothing said or done before the incident proved or disproved what had happened. Scheuer's testimony was enough to move the case toward trial, she said.

"I think that there's at least probable cause at this time," she said.

Haugen disagreed, saying that the woman's changing story was troublesome. He also said he did not believe Scheuer's testimony that the woman would not have felt pain from sexual assault.

"That doesn't really hold water, your honor," he said as he asked Romanick to dismiss the charge.

Romanick said that the medical testimony was enough for the court to have probable cause that the crime had occurred. The evidence "indicates a nonconsensual encounter," the judge said.

Romanick said Rippenkroeger's next court appearance will be a pretrial conference on April 16 before South Central District Judge David Reich.

U-Mary issued a statement after Rippenkroeger was charged, saying the school was conducting its own internal investigation into the incident.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)