Additional charges filed in child sexual exploitation case

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck man facing more than two dozen felony charges, including sexually exploiting children, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on an additional 13 counts.

The new charges accuse 21-year-old Dawson Rouse of luring minor girls on social media and convincing them to send inappropriate photos and meet him, according to U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley. Six of his victims had sexual contact with Rouse, Wrigley said.

The defendant was indicted in July on 27 felony charges, including sexual exploitation of a child, enticing a child to engage in sexual activity and transferring obscene material to a minor.

Rouse in April was charged in Burleigh County with luring teenage girls by using electronic devices and forcing himself on a 13-year-old girl. More state charges were filed in June when a continued investigation produced additional victims, police said.

The state charges against Rouse were dismissed, but some could be recharged after the federal case, according to Burleigh County State's Attorney Julie Lawyer, the Bismarck Tribune  reported.

Rouse's attorney, Michael Hoffman, did not immediate return a phone call seeking comment.