Sex charges marked by 'heinous elements'

A grand jury indicted a Scanlon man last week with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct “with heinous elements” and a charge of kidnapping. If convicted, the first three charges all carry a life sentence without possibility of release.

Dennis Michael St. John Jr., 53, was arrested in July, after being accused of holding a woman against her will and raping her repeatedly, forcing drugs on her and threatening to kill her.

According to the complaint, the alleged victim ran into St. John at the Black Bear Casino Resort on Friday, July 17, and left about 11 p.m. to go to his home. She told police she had been in a previous relationship with him. Once inside his Scanlon home, the woman told police that St. John said “paybacks are a bitch” and proceeded to strike her, cutting off her tank top and undergarments. The woman told police that St. John had a knife and large flashlight and threatened to kill her. She said he sexually assaulted her six or seven times Friday night into the early morning hours Saturday and then throughout the day and into Sunday morning. She also alleged that he forced her to smoke meth and gave her a pill for the pain.

The woman escaped, she said, when St. John went to walk his dog Sunday, driving off in her vehicle. She said St. John told her he would find her and kill her and family members if she escaped.

Police recovered some of the victim’s clothing when they arrested St. John, and found two knives in his pockets. The woman went to the hospital for a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) exam, done by a registered nurse with special training to provide care to sexual assault victims as well as forensics and testimony in case of trial.

According to the grand jury indictment, the “heinous element” included torturing the victim and exposing her to “extreme inhumane” conditions. Additionally, he was also armed with what the victim believed to be a dangerous weapon which he used to cause her to submit.

St. John appeared before Judge Rebekka Stumme on the new charges Monday, Oct. 26. Bail was set at $1 million, no cash option.

Ketola said her office cannot charge people with life-in-prison offenses.

“In Minnesota, only grand juries can issue that indictment,” she said, explaining that 16-23 people are required to serve on a grand jury, and at least 12 of them must vote to indict.

St. John is scheduled for an omnibus hearing before Judge Stumme at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at the Carlton County Courthouse. St. John also has a jury trial set for November on a separate charge of felony third-degree criminal sexual assault from August 2018. He has retained attorney Thomas Michael Boenigk to represent him in both cases.