Trial delayed in rape, kidnapping case

The trial for a Scanlon man accused of criminal sexual conduct “with heinous elements” and a kidnapping was canceled for this week and reset for January.

Dennis Michael St. John Jr., 54, was arrested in July 2020, 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 criminal complaint, the alleged victim ran into St. John at the Black Bear Casino Resort on July 17 and they 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 that night and 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 her 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 a hospital for a sexual assault 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.

In October 2020, a grand jury indicted St. John on 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 in prison without the possibility of release. He is also charged with kidnapping, threats of violence and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

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 allegedly used to cause her to submit.

In June, St. John’s attorney moved to suppress the July 20 search warrant to collect a sample of his DNA and any evidence obtained as a result of the search, along with a search warrant to collect cellphone location information. On Sept. 3, Sixth District Judge Jill Eichenwald, acting as review judge, granted the request to suppress the DNA sample, but not the motion to suppress the cellphone data.

On Sept. 8, the trial judge in the case, Sixth District Carlton County Judge Rebekka Stumme, granted a motion by the prosecution to collect saliva from St. John for DNA testing.

The trial was reset to Jan. 4 in Carlton County Court.

Carlton County Attorney Lauri Ketola said the attorneys had not begun jury selection in the case. She said the jury pool will likely be different than the current one, depending on how many trials happen between now and January.

St. John remains in the Carlton County Jail. Bail is set at $1 million with no cash option.