Fergus Falls Man Sentenced to Jail, Probation for Child Sex Abuse

Jerry Edward Arntson, 52, of Fergus Falls was sentenced last week to four months in Otter Tail County Jail and 25 years of probation for inappropriately touching a child under the age of 16, capping a case that began with a victim's account of repeated nighttime abuse spanning roughly a year.

Arntson submitted a guilty plea last fall as part of a plea agreement. In February 2025, the victim told investigators that Arntson had come into their room multiple times while they were asleep and that they would wake up to him touching them.

When investigators spoke with Arntson, he acknowledged entering the victim's room but offered a different explanation. He said the victim was really difficult to wake up and that he would often have to touch them to wake them up. He added that if he had touched somewhere inappropriate, it was by accident.

The victim described the abuse as "mostly sex," according to reporting by TRF News.

Arntson's mugshot was released by the Otter Tail County Jail following the proceedings.

The sentencing closes out a case in which Arntson faced charges for engaging in sexual contact with a minor. The 25-year probation term extends well past his jail sentence, placing him under court supervision into his late seventies.