Jury finds man guilty of criminal sexual conduct

A jury last month found a Carlton County man guilty of criminal sexual conduct in 2016.

On Thursday, March 28 a jury in Carlton County returned two guilty verdicts of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree against Michael Dean Defoe, 51, of Cloquet.

According to the criminal complaint:

At approximately 3:55 a.m. Oct. 16, 2016 officers responded to Defoe's home on Maple Drive regarding an alleged assault. Officer Kevin Holshouser of the Fond du Lac police department was the first officer to arrive, and learned that Defoe had been stabbed in the neck. Defoe allegedly told police that he did not know the person who assaulted him, that the person had come to Defoe's home with a mutual friend. After an investigation, officers learned that two males, ages 19 and 15, had come to Defoe's house earlier in the evening, and drank alcohol. According to the criminal complaint, Defoe allegedly offered the two males pills (described alternately as Klonopin and Valium) in exchange for performance of acts including taking off their shirts, allowing Defoe to kiss their necks and touch their hair, and exposing their genitals.

According to the complaint, later on, when the juvenile male went into the bedroom, Defoe followed him, performed oral sex and attempted to pentrate him. While in the bedroom, he told police he "snapped," pulled out a knife and stabbed Defoe in the neck.

Assistant Carlton County attorney Jeff Boucher, who prosecuted the case, stated in a press release that sex crimes, particularly those with child victims, "leave lasting damage to the victims and community in their wake and will be prosecuted aggressively by the county attorney's office."

After the trial, Defoe was ordered to undergo a psychosexual evaluation. He will be sentenced May 13.