North Dakota woman sentenced for soliciting minor for sex



A 28-year-old Fargo woman who was charged last fall with gross sexual imposition after she was accused of having sex with a 14-year-old boy was sentenced Monday, April 11, to 167 days in jail after earlier pleading guilty to a lesser charge of soliciting a minor to have sex.

Chelsea J. Leonard was given credit for having already served 167 days and was ordered to pay fees totalling more than $500.

Cass County District Court Judge Wade Webb stressed to Leonard that she will be on supervised probation for five years and that a violation of her probation could subject her to a prison sentence of up to five years.

According to court documents, Leonard asked a 14-year-old boy to have sex with her in a Fargo hotel room last October.

Later, Leonard shared information about the incident with the boy's mother, who was in a different room in the hotel, and police were contacted.

Leonard's attorney, Laura Reynolds, told Webb Monday that her client struggles with severe alcohol problems, but stressed that Leonard had "taken responsibility from day one of this."

Webb acknowledged Leonard's repeated apologies, but he said in the given situation apologies were insufficient and he warned Leonard more than once that the felony she pleaded guilty to will carry additional consequences if she violates the terms of her probation.

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