A year ago Wednesday a Bismarck man was sentenced to prison for abusing and raping his infant daughter.
Although he is behind bars today, the mother of the victim says she has one more battle to fight. She asked that her name be left out of the story because she says she’s been attacked on social media in the past over what happened to her now 3-and-a-half-year-old daughter.
The man responsible is 34-year-old Andrew Glasser. He is currently serving a 16-year prison sentence.
Back in 2017, Glasser had no prior charges of this nature when he watched their children while the mother worked. She came home one night to find her 11-week-old daughter bleeding, and would never have imagined what would be discovered by doctors.
“I got home from work later that night and I checked her diaper, and there was an injury that should not have been there,” she said, laying out the events that night in October 2017.
“I took her to the walk-in clinic. They sent me to the emergency room, sent me home, went to the pediatrician the next morning. It was doctor number 4 to finally tell me kind of like, ‘This is sexual trauma.'”
Three and a half years later, the young girl is healthy.
“Thankfully babies heal fast and you wouldn’t know her from any other 3-year-old because she’s so little she doesn’t remember anything,” her mother shared.
That said, she knows one day she’ll have to have that conversation with her daughter before she finds out on her own. With the possibility of Andrew Glasser’s release before her 18th birthday, the mother of two filed to terminate his parental rights and to change both of her children’s last names.
“He’s set to get out October 27, 2030. My daughter will be 13 years old,” she explained.
When asked if she’s concerned about losing child support, she told me, “I don’t get child support now. At that point whenever he gets released, I’ll have been doing it so long by myself that child support, honestly like…” She shrugged.
“I don’t know. I don’t need it. I mean it’d be nice but it’s not something that I’m used to getting.”
And, although the conditions of his judgment say Glasser cannot contact or be within 100 yards of the victim, these terms go away when he completes probation. The mother says she can’t let that happen.
“When you are terminating someone’s parental rights, that does not automatically extinguish a child support obligation,” Heartland Law Office Attorney Patrick Waters chimed in.
Waters says, while bound by the probation conditions Glasser still retains other rights as a parent, like access to his kids’ medical records.
According to the mother, the termination would ensure even if something happens to her, he cannot step in as a parent.
“I think the mother is doing what she feels is right and she should do that,” Waters concluded.
He says he can’t say for sure without all of the facts, but he believes she likely has a strong case.
“I feel like this is the best option for the kids because they need to know they are protected, that if you hurt kids, you’re not going to get away with it. You don’t get to have those ties,” the mother said, looking to the future.
This legal action does come with a price tag.
The mother tells me the day in court, alone, to terminate Glasser’s parental rights will cost her around $2,400. To fight back won’t cost Glasser a dime. He’s given a court-appointed attorney.
Meanwhile, Glasser is fighting to reduce his current sentence in the state Supreme Court.