(Morton County, ND) — The judge who denied two plea deals in the Terry Steinwand case will not be replaced. Three courts have denied a request for a change of judge. State prosecutors previously charged former state Game and Fish Director Steinwand with felony gross sexual imposition, which carried a possible sentence of life in prison if he was convicted. Two plea deals were presented to the court but rejected by Judge Marina Spahr, who said the pleas didn’t provide enough sex offender treatment for him. The state eventually dismissed the charges and refiled misdemeanor sexual assault charges, which carry a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a three-thousand dollar fine.
