Stearns County Man Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Term for Rape

BROCKWAY TOWNSHIP (WJON News) -- A Stearns County man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for raping a woman in January 2023.

A judge found 25-year-old Romaine Reid guilty on one count of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct by use of force in a one-day bench trial in February. The judge also granted an upward departure from the state sentencing guidelines because the woman was particularly vulnerable.

According to the criminal complaint, Reid and the woman were at a home just east of St. Stephen and a confrontation broke out where the two started wrestling. Court documents show the woman was telling Reid to stop several times when she noticed blood and went to check herself in the bathroom.

The woman said Reid followed her into the bathroom and then the bedroom. The woman said Reid held her down and sexually assaulted her as she screamed for him to stop.

Court records show the victim recorded the assault on her Apple Watch and investigators say the recording corroborated the woman's testimony.

For his part, Reid told investigators that the two were acting "goofy" and sexual toward one another and described the situation as aggressive foreplay.