RAMSEY COUNTY, Minn. (trfnews.i234.me) – A judge has handed down a sentence of 7.5 years in prison to Keanu Labatte, a 20-year-old man from Granite Falls, Minnesota after he pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
According to court documents, Labatte physically and sexually assaulted his girlfriend, a student at St. Catherine University, while keeping her confined in her dorm for four days until she escaped. The abuse included rape and waterboarding.
Labatte was previously released on an $80,000 bond after spending 16 days in jail. In court, he apologized to the victim and expressed a desire to complete treatment.
However, despite his apology, the judge denied Labatte’s request to trade any prison time for probation. The young woman who was assaulted by Labatte was seated several rows behind him during the hearing, with a victim advocate reading a statement on her behalf.
The advocate read that Labatte had been controlling and would get aggravated if she didn’t respond in the way he wanted. She also wrote about being beaten, choked, raped, and waterboarded, as well as threats to kill her parents.
Following the hearing, the woman told TRF News under anonymity that while she was relieved by the sentence, she had hoped for a longer prison term but understood why Labatte accepted the plea deal. She expressed relief that the judge did not reduce the terms of the plea agreement and emphasized that she is now focused on moving forward with her life.
Labatte will serve five years in prison followed by supervised release and will be registered as a sex offender for life, according to Minnesota law. The case highlights concerns about sexual assault at St. Catherine University, which had fewer than 10 reports of such incidents last year, down from higher numbers in previous years. State records show that the university has been working to address these issues.
This story is reported by Chris Harper for trfnews.i234.me