Man guilty in pre-teen assault case

A Cloquet man who once served time for kidnapping and raping an ex-girlfriend was found guilty by a jury on June 7 of four felony counts related to his attempted sexual assault of a 12-year-old girl.

Tony Allen Gohl, 40, was charged in fall 2023 with a series of crimes related to an incident involving a girl he’d been taking care of for approximately one year. His trial was conducted at the Sixth District Carlton County Courthouse before Judge Rebekka Stumme.

The jury found Gohl guilty of two counts of attempted criminal sexual conduct in the first degree — both sexual penetration and sexual contact — as well as indecent exposure while confining or restricting a person’s freedom, and soliciting a child to engage in sexual conduct.

He now faces sentences ranging from five to 30 years in prison depending on the charge, with fines between $10,000 and $40,000.

Gohl, who lives on the 400 block of 14th Street in Cloquet, was arrested Oct. 27, 2023, in the days after the girl told her mother about an incident that happened in the girl’s home.

Gohl remains in Carlton County Jail on $250,000 bail.

According to the criminal complaint, Gohl was providing childcare for the victim and a younger sibling on Oct. 21, 2023, when he allegedly followed the victim into the bathroom and locked the door. He pulled down his pants and underwear and demanded oral sex from the victim, and later that she bend over. In an interview at First Witness on Oct. 27, the victim said Gohl made “stern” sexual demands and she refused, crying and asking him to stop. She tried to unlock the door, but he pushed her down and away from the door. The victim said he eventually pulled up his pants and left the bathroom, later apologizing and asking her to keep it a secret.

When Cloquet police arrested Gohl on Oct. 27, he allegedly resisted arrest, running away from officers. When he was caught, Gohl was “flailing his arms and legs, attempting to fight and/or get away,” according to the complaint, allegedly striking the arresting officer in the chest and wrapping his arm around the officer’s neck and leg. As a result, Gohl previously also faced three misdemeanor charges that were not part of the trial.

The crimes were not the first criminal sex or kidnapping charges for Gohl, who pleaded guilty at age 20 to kidnapping and criminal sexual misconduct of an ex-girlfriend in Warba, Minnesota.

In that case, Gohl admitted to following his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend and flashing his lights to get her to pull over. She later tried to flee when he drove her to a gravel pit, so he shot a 12-gauge shotgun in her direction and admitted to hitting her with the barrel of the gun until she fell to the ground, according to a story written by the Mesabi Tribune at the time.

He then raped her and coerced her to perform other sexual acts. Police found a bag in his car containing a knife, a crowbar, ammunition, a screwdriver and duct tape.

The Itasca County Attorney’s Office requested an 18-year sentence in that case, an upwards departure due to the aggravating factors of the attack, according to the Mesabi Tribune. Gohl fulfilled that sentence.

Gohl has also been convicted previously of motor vehicle theft, driving while intoxicated, felony domestic violence and fifth-degree assault.

Gohl will be sentenced for his latest crimes at 9 a.m. Aug. 9 at Sixth District Court in Carlton.

A motion hearing will be conducted at 11:30 a.m. July 3 to address nine- and 13-page affidavits filed by Gohl himself, alleging a series of complaints related to his prosecution, including misrepresentation by his attorney, poor jury instructions and fabricated evidence against him. According to the affidavits, Gohl is attempting to seek a new trial.