Father found guilty in assault

A Holyoke man was found guilty last month of sexually assaulting his 9-year-old daughter in a case that began 11 months ago.

Following a trial June 21-23, a jury found Calvin Bartz, 35, guilty of multiple acts of second-degree criminal conduct in Sixth District Carlton County Court on June 23.

The charges stemmed from a report made in August 2021 to the Two Harbors police department. According to the criminal complaint, Lake View Memorial Hospital called the police to report the sexual assault of a juvenile girl.

The girl’s mother told police that her daughter told her that her father had been touching her private parts. Bartz is the father.

Three days later, a forensic interview was conducted at First Witness in Duluth by a professional interviewer in a child-friendly environment. The girl told the interviewer that when she visited her father, he would ask her to sit on his lap in a recliner while they watched TV together. She said he put his hand in her pants and would feel around down there, and he had done it more than once. She gave details and said it made her feel uncomfortable and she did not like to visit her father.

Bartz told law enforcement he “cuddled” with his daughter but denied touching her sexually.

The jury was not convinced. Sentencing is set for Aug. 12. Under sentencing guidelines, Bartz has a likely sentence of 90 months. Bartz is in custody in the Carlton County jail.

Carlton County attorney Lauri Ketola said this was a case where the system worked: mom took the child to the hospital, a law enforcement officer who was trained by First Witness responded and handled the case correctly, the interview was conducted by First Witness and the jury had a solid body of evidence to consider.

“Part of my agenda as county attorney is to respond to sexual abuse, particularly children,” Ketola said. “We are going to protect kids and aggressively prosecute people who harm them to the fullest extent of the law.”

Ketola said they are prosecuting more criminal sexual abuse cases in Carlton County, partially as a result of a new “Safe and Strong Body” curriculum that First Witness has taught at elementary schools in Cloquet and Barnum.

“It’s increasing the number of reports we get because the kids now have the language and the teachers and staff understand that they have to report,” Ketola said.