North Dakota Department of Family Services Director pleads guilty to stalking

North Dakota Department of Child and Family Services Director Cory Pedersen pleaded guilty to stalking his former partner and received a 360-day suspended sentence with probation. The January misdemeanor stalking charge followed an earlier charge of violating a restraining order after Pedersen was arrested on October 8, 2024, when the victim, also a state employee, reported seeing him at the State Capitol. Court documents allege Pedersen made approximately 125 contact attempts between late July and the restraining order, including voicemails, texts, calls, and packages sent to her home, despite her requests to stop communication. Pedersen still faces a separate misdemeanor charge for violating a domestic violence protection order, with court proceedings scheduled for late May and early June.