Sauk Centre Man Sentenced for Statutory Rape

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- A 23-year-old Sauk Centre man has been sentenced for grooming a 14-year-old girl on a social media app for sex and explicit photos.

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A Stearns County judge has sentenced Zachary Sureth to a stayed sentence of three years in prison. He must also attend a sex offender program, undergo a psychological examination and register as a predatory offender. Sureth gets credit for having served three days in jail and will be on probation for 15 years.

Court records show Sureth convinced the girl to send pictures and videos of herself in sexually explicit poses and then met up with her to have intercourse.

The crimes came to light when the girl's mother discovered sexually explicit messages on the girl's phone. The child was brought to the Child Advocacy Center for a forensic interview where she admitted to meeting Sureth for sex on three separate occasions.

Sureth pleaded guilty to 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct in January.

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Filed Under: stearns county district court

Categories: courts, From the WJON Newsroom, St. Cloud News