Caledonia Argus

Frye guilty of sexual misconduct; Schendel pleads not guilty

Posted: 12/16/03

By Shannon McKinney
Argus News Reporter

Clarence Frye, 48, of Houston, pled guilty on Tuesday, December 9 to sexually assaulting two girls between the ages of 13 and 16 years old.

A jury trial for Frye was cancelled when he pled guilty to one count of criminal sexual misconduct in the second degree and criminal sexual misconduct in the first degree.

The offenses occurred in Houston between September and December of 2002. In the second degree conviction, the victim was under the age of 16. Fry admitted to touching her inappropriately.

In the first degree offense, the second victim was over 13 years old, but under the age of 16.

Fry admitted to sexually penetrating the victim several times.

The maximum penalty for the second degree charge is 25 years in prison and $35,000, and 30 years in prison and $40,000 for the first degree charge.

Fry is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, December 29 at 2:30 p.m.

Schendel pleads not guilty

In another sexual misconduct case, Scott M. Schendel, 45, of La Crescent has waived his right to an omnibus hearing and plead not guilty to two counts of second degree criminal sexual misconduct.

He appeared in Houston County District Court on December 3. A jury trial has yet to be scheduled.

Schendel is accused of kissing a 10-year old La Crescent girl and then touching her inappropriately after giving her a ride from his home, where she had been visiting. The incident is alleged to have occurred on October 16.

Schendel admits hugging the girl, but denies that he kissed or touched her inappropriately.

He is free on a $10,000 cash bond. Some of his conditions of release were modified. He is allowed to go out of state to do maintenance at clinics. He is a bio-medical technician.

His condition of no contact with the victim remains the same. He is to have no unsupervised contact with children on his premises except for his own children.

Man charged with burglary

Keith A. Butler, 20, of Houston is facing charges of burglarizing a house he had previously been convicted of burglarizing.

On Saturday, December 6 at 1:53 a.m., the Houston County Sheriffís Office received a 911 call from a Houston resident who reported seeing a man looking inside the boat in their attached garage.

Police arrived shortly after the call and searched the area, following the suspectís footprints that had been left in the freshly fallen snow.

The suspect was located in his motherís residence with snow still on his shoes.

Butler was convicted in 2002 for burglarizing 13 residences in Houston, one of which included this last alleged burglary.

He is scheduled for a second appearance on Monday, December 15 at 10 a.m. He will have the opportunity to enter a plea or request an omnibus. He is being represented by public defender James Schultz.

He is currently still in jail, with conditional bail set at $15,000 and unconditional bail set at $30,000.

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