MANDAN, N.D. (KVRR) — A Morton County judge rejects a plea deal for former Game & Fish director Terry Steinwand.

He is charged with one felony count of gross sexual imposition with a victim under 15.

The criminal complaint says a five-year-old girl told a counselor that Steinwand touched her inappropriately on multiple occasions, both over and under her clothes.

During an interview with Mandan police, Steinwand admitted to touching the girl in what he described as a tickling motion and used it to calm her down.

He was arrested last September.

Two weeks ago, a change of plea hearing was canceled and Judge Marina Spahr ordered Steinwand to undergo a psychological evaluation and come back in two weeks.

Wednesday, she rejected his latest plea deal and ordered a trial to begin on April 28.

Steinwand was appointed North Dakota Game & Fish director in 2006 and retired in 2021 after spending 40 years with the department.