FARGO, N.D. - A man thought he might get a protection order lifted
by secretly videotaping himself having sex with the woman he was told to leave
alone. He was wrong, police said.
Justin W. Fraase, 26, gave the video to an officer, expecting it to show the
woman didn't fear him. Instead, the tape revealed more than enough evidence
for his arrest, police said.
"He obviously didn't watch it before he gave it to us," Lt. Tod Dahle
said. Fraase was charged Thursday with sexually assaulting the woman two days
earlier in his apartment.
A judge set his bail at $50,000 cash or bond. The woman, who has two children
with Fraase, said he called her over to his home to discuss the custody of their
kids.
When she arrived, he cornered her and wouldn't let her call for help until
she had sex with him, she told police. "I was terrified," she said
Thursday. "I didn't know what to do."
Afterward, Fraase showed her a camcorder and told her he had taped them.
Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Leah Viste watched the video and charged
Fraase with three felonies: gross sexual imposition, felonious restraint and
violation of a protection order. She also charged him with surreptitious intrusion
and simple assault, both misdemeanors.
The video, which Viste said is 30 to 40 minutes long, includes audio of the
woman's struggle and makes it clear she didn't want the sex, Dahle said.
"He provides us the videotape and doesn't realize that there's all this
evidence on there that ends up putting him in jail on all these felony charges,"
Dahle said. "So basically he arrested himself."
