BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Another North Dakota Highway Patrol officer has been charged with misdemeanor sexual assault in connection with hot tub parties in 2020.
The Bismarck Tribune reported Thursday that 40-year-old Travis Skar was charged Tuesday with alleging touching a woman inappropriately during a hot tub party in the summer of 2020. Court documents didn’t list an attorney for him.
He faces up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine if he’s convicted. His employment status isn’t clear. A list of highway patrol officers the Tribune obtained from the North Dakota Peace Officer Standards and Training Board on Jan. 18 didn’t list him.
Former patrol officer Steven Johnson also faces a misdemeanor sexual assault charge stemming from another hot tub party, this one in December 2020. A woman at the party accused him of inappropriately touching her.
Johnson was fired from the patrol in November 2021. He was commander of the agency’s southwest region at the time. His attorney has said the charges are an act of revenge by someone with a vendetta against him.
Johnson has pleaded not guilty. He faces up to a year in jail and a $3,000 fine if he’s convicted.
Johnson and Skar are listed as witnesses in each other’s cases.
