Austin N. Ouellette, who lived in St. Cloud at the time of the assault, pleaded guilty to one felony count in August. By Jenny Berg. Cloud man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for raping a year-old girl that he met near a St. Cloud park earlier this year. Ouellette, who turns 27 on Tuesday, was charged in May with two felony counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. In August, he pleaded guilty to one count and the second count was dismissed.
On Friday, Stearns County District Judge Andrew Pearson sentenced Ouellette to 41 months in prison, with credit for days served, and ordered him to register as a predatory offender. Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall said Ouellette asked the court to stay his sentence, meaning he could serve probation instead of jail time, which the court denied.
The sentencing guidelines for third-degree criminal sexual conduct convictions call for 41 to 54 months in prison. According to the complaint against Ouellette , who now lists an address in Bayport, police were sent to St. Cloud Hospital for a reported sexual assault on May 26; at the hospital, a year-old girl told police she was sitting under a bridge near Lake George the day before when Ouellette approached her and asked for a cigarette. The girl said Ouellette, whom she did not know, invited her to walk to a gas station and then his residence in the block of Ninth Avenue S.
The girl said Ouellette told her that if she told anyone about the assault, he would hurt her and her family, the documents said. Jenny Berg covers St. Cloud for the Star Tribune.
Sign up to receive the new St. Cloud Today newsletter. The central Minnesota board appointed a former member to fill the seat vacated by Bruce Hentges until a special election is held in November. The dairy farmer had settled civil charges for housing workers in substandard conditions in October.
