Pedersen sentenced in molestation case

Gerald Pedersen

Gerald R. Pedersen, Guilford, was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in state prison on two felony counts of child molestation.

The sentence was handed down by 7th Circuit Judge Larry D. Harman in Liberty, where the case has been moved on a change of venue.

Harman sentenced Pedersen to 10 years on each count and ordered the terms to run consecutively.

A Clay County jury found Pedersen guilty in June. The case stemmed from charges filed in April 2016 by Nodaway County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Rice.

According to court documents, Pedersen was arrested by a Nodaway County Sheriff’s deputy following an investigation sparked by a citizen complaint.

In a probable cause statement, the arresting officer stated the investigation included forensic interviews at the Child Advocacy Center in St. Joseph with the victims, both 10-year-old girls.

During those interviews, one of the children said that during a weekend sleepover at Pedersen’s residence on Saturday, April 2, 2016, she awoke to find the suspect on top of her.

The second girl reported a similar version of events, adding that Pedersen allegedly molested her as well by attempting to remove her nightgown and making sexual contact.

Pedersen initially denied sexually touching either girl and agreed to take a voice stress test, an electronic spoken-word lie detection system.

During the test, Pedersen admitted playing “challenge games” with the two girls while shirtless and wearing pajama pants.

He further stated that both girls were wearing shirts but no pants or underwear.

The offenses of which Pedersen was convicted are Class B felonies carrying a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison each.

However, in a second phase of the trial following conviction, the jury limited Pedersen’s sentence to a maximum of 10 years for each offense.