Trial date set for Florida man accused of raping Grand Forks County child

Jul. 31--A trial has been scheduled for a Florida man accused of raping a Grand Forks County child in 2013.

Shawn Travis Wear, 53, of Aneta Springs, Fla., will appear for a status conference on Aug. 10. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11.

Wear faces a charge of gross sexual imposition with a victim younger than 15 when the defendant was older than 22. The charge is a Class AA felony, and, if convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole.

According to court documents, an investigation began in February 2018 when a treatment case worker observed a juvenile, called John Doe, have an unusual reaction or a "trigger" to seeing another man. Doe, who was visibly shaken, according to documents, told doctors that the man reminded him of Wear, who he said "was not a nice man."

The documents state that in August 2018, an adult supervisor overheard Doe describing physical and sexual abuse he said he had allegedly experienced at the hands of Wear. Doe also described a number of sexual acts Wear allegedly forced him to do.

According to documents, Doe didn't know the adult supervisor was listening to his conversation. When the supervisor approached Doe about it, Doe asked that they pretend they hadn't heard anything.

Days later, Doe underwent a forensic interview at Red River Children's Advocacy Center, documents say. During the interview, Doe said Wear had sexually abused him when Doe was 11 or 12 years old. Wear was 46 or 47 years old at the time.

A warrant for Wear's arrest was issued on June 5, 2019. He made his initial appearance in court on July 9, 2019.

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