Volunteer charged with sexual assault of Turtle Mountain teen

Thursday, October 31, 2013  

A church volunteer and former teacher has been charged with sexually assaulting a girl he met on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in North Dakota.

Authorities say Sean Kovalevich, 28, raped the girl when she was 14. He faces two counts of Class AA felony gross sexual imposition of a girl under 15 and could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted.

He also was charged with a lesser count of corruption of a minor. Authorities say Kovalevich had sex with the girl after she turned 15.

The crime was initially discovered by tribal police, who arrested Kovalevich in November 2012 for having a gun and minor girls inside a hotel room at the Sky Dancer Casino on the reservation. The victim told investigators that she had a sexual encounter with Kovalevich at a hotel room in Grand Forks, off the reservation.

At the time, Kovalevich was working as a teacher in Starkweather, off the reservation. He was promptly fired after the school found out about his tribal arrest.

According to his online resume, Kovalevich also taught at a Catholic school on the reservation. The victim may have been his student there.

Kovalevich volunteered at the church that runs the school. He worked with youth on the reservation.

Get the Story:
Former teacher, Catholic youth worker charged with sexual assault of 14-year-old girl in Grand Forks hotel (The Grand Forks Herald 10/31)