Appeal denied on life sentence for kidnapping, assault

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has rejected challenges from Dennis Michael St. John Jr., who was found guilty by a Carlton County jury in January 2022 of three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with kidnapping and domestic assault of a woman.

St. John’s attorney, Kevin Gregorius of Meshbesher and Associates in Minneapolis, asserted that the Carlton County Sixth District Court erred in seven instances regarding procedures, evidence and testimony during his trial. All were rejected by the appellate court led by Judge Tracy Smith, with a filing of its findings dated May 1.

St. John, 56, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct “with heinous elements,” plus one count of kidnapping and domestic assault with the intent of bodily harm.

By finding him guilty of the heinous elements, St. John was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.

The criminal complaint says victim ran into St. John at the Black Bear Casino Resort on a night in July 2020 and they left about 11 p.m. to go to his home. She told police she had once been in a relationship with him. Once inside his Scanlon home, the woman told police that St. John beat her and removed her clothing with a knife. The woman said St. John had two knives and a large flashlight that he used like a bat to bash things around her and threatened to kill her. She said he sexually assaulted her six or seven times. The woman escaped when St. John went to walk his dog. She said St. John told her he would find her and kill her and family members if she escaped.

The “heinous element” added to each charge included torturing the victim, exposing her to “extreme inhumane” conditions and use of a dangerous weapon.