Lewd conduct case dismissed

SANDPOINT - The case against a Priest River man accused of lewd conduct and sexual abuse of a minor has been dismissed.

Bonner County Prosecutor Louis Marshall moved to dismiss the case against Ted Norman Engelbrecht to avoid further trauma to the alleged victim, according to court documents.

Marshall said in the dismissal motion that the girl's therapist, Lynn Bolton, advised him that forcing her to continue with the legal process would not be in her best interest.

"Ms. Bolton also finds that there is a very strong potential that asking her to continue the case at this time creates the risk for further traumatization," Marshall said in the motion.

Engelbrecht insists he is innocent of the charges, which he said were fabricated by the child's mother, who is related to his girlfriend. Engelbrecht said he doesn't know why the vendetta against him exists.

"I haven't the slightest idea. She just doesn't like me," Engelbrecht said on Friday, almost a week after Judge Barbara Buchanan approved the state's motion to dismiss.