By David Unze
St. Cloud Times
August 28, 2009
http://www.sctimes.com/article/20090828/NEWS01/108270057/1009
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| Arthur James Ree |
A retired pastor and former volunteer chaplain for the St. Cloud Police Department pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he repeatedly sexually abused a girl at his west St. Cloud home.
Arthur James Ree, 82, remains in Stearns County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bail. His attorney requested a study to determine if that amount is too high. Stearns County District Court Judge Paul Widick ordered the study at a brief hearing Thursday.
Ree is charged with six counts of criminal sexual conduct. A court complaint accuses him of abusing the girl at Ree’s residence on Wildwood Road, with the latest incident in 2006.
The abuse allegedly happened during a time when Ree was working as a volunteer chaplain for the city’s police department, according to the criminal complaint.
The abuse report surfaced after a recent argument between Ree and the girl when she refused to allow him to force a sex act on her, according to the complaint.
Ree is charged with four counts of first-degree and two counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Contact: dunze@stcloudtimes.com
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