Man pleads guilty to sexual assault of child

A Cloquet man admitted in Carlton County Court last week that he sexually assaulted a 6-year-old girl in 2016.

Kim James Connors Jr., 32, who goes by “KC,” pleaded guilty to one charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, penetration or contact with a person under 13, Friday, Oct. 6, in Sixth District Carlton County Court.

According to the criminal complaint, the girl reported to staff at the Carlton County youth shelter in 2021 that Connors touched her “all the way” when she lived at his mother’s house as a foster child. She later told another foster parent the same thing after they passed Connors at a sporting event. The foster mom told police the girl was happy at the game but became “physically ill and asked to go to the bathroom” after seeing him.

In an interview detailed in the complaint, the victim said she had been at the foster home for roughly two of the six years she stayed there when the alleged assault occurred. She had been playing Uno with Connors when he asked her if she wanted to play a different game. He allegedly told her to take her clothes off, took his clothes off, and sexually penetrated her. At the time, the girl would have been around 6 years old and Connors age 25.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim said she tried to scream, but Connors covered her mouth. He told her not to tell anyone or he would hurt her. The victim also told police that she told his mother what happened, and that his mother said she would report it but never did.

According to more recently filed court documents, at least one other foster child claimed that Connors sexually assaulted her. That was not addressed at Friday’s hearing.

Before pleading guilty, defense attorney Thomas Boenigk walked Connors through the rights he was giving up by pleading guilty and questioned him to confirm he understood the charge and was of right mind. Then he questioned him about the facts of the case.

Connors agreed he had a sexual encounter with the 6-year-old girl without consent at his parents’ home when the girl was a foster child.

In return for his guilty plea, the Carlton County Attorney’s office recommended a departure from the presumptive sentence. Under the terms of the agreement, Connors must spend one year at the Northeast Regional Corrections Center and complete a sexual offender treatment program there, followed by five years of probation. He must register as a sexual predator. He must undergo a psychosexual evaluation and presentence investigation before sentencing, set for Dec. 15. Until then, Connors will continue ongoing treatment through intensive pretrial release.

Under the terms of the agreement, County Attorney Lauri Ketola also agreed not to amend the criminal complaint by adding more charges.

Judge Amy Lukasavitz also mandated that Connors must avoid unsupervised contact with anyone under 18 and have no contact with the victim. His mother cannot be his supervisor.

The maximum sentence for first-degree criminal sexual conduct is 30 years with a minimum of 12 years (or 10 years with conditional release) if the person is found guilty. Prisoners don’t have to agree to sex offender treatment.