St. Cloud Man Enters Alford Plea in Sex Assault of Teen
ST. CLOUD -- A St. Cloud man accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl will be sentenced April 6th following a plea agreement.
Twenty-four-year-old Luis Arreguin entered an Alford Plea last week on one count of 1st Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct with a person under 16-years-old. An Alford Plea is where a defendant maintains they're innocent of the crime, but admits the prosecution has enough evidence to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Police were called to St. Cloud Hospital in November 2015 after authorities there reported the girl had come in for a rape kit evaluation. According to the criminal complaint, the girl told police that she had gone to Arreguin's mobile home in Bel Clare Estates the day before and he had given her vodka to drink, then covered her mouth, undressed her, and forced sex on her. The girl said Arreguin also raped her in the woods near the basketball court at the park a month earlier.
Police went to the home looking for Arreguin and found him hiding in a closet. He denied touching the girl and submitted a DNA sample which matched DNA found in the rape kit administered at the hospital.
The Stearns County Attorneys Office says the agreement calls for Arreguin to be sentenced to more than eight years in prison.