WORTHINGTON — A local man will serve one year of supervised probation on a misdemeanor crime relating to an incident in which he was accused of repeatedly raping a household member last fall.
Bryan Bautista Duarte was arrested Oct. 30 and charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, both felonies; and misdemeanor offenses of Domestic Abuse No Contact Order (DANCO) violation and domestic assault.
The two felony charges were dismissed earlier in the court proceedings and Bautista Duarte pleaded guilty to Count 3, the DANCO violation. The domestic assault charge was dismissed as part of the plea agreement. Bautista Duarte received his sentence Thursday morning.
At the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Roland Henry noted that initially, the plea agreement contemplated issuing another DANCO, but the victim had requested that that be dismissed. The victim made a statement at the hearing, saying that they want Bautista Duarte to get psychological counseling to change his behavior.
Bautista Duarte also wanted to speak prior to his sentencing.
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"If I'm offered the help, that would be great. I'll accept it," he told the court.
Fifth Judicial District Judge Leland Bush sentenced Bautista Duarte to 90 days in the county jail, with a stay of execution in favor of one year of supervised probation. If Bautista Duarte doesn't abide by the terms of his probation, he will be brought back before the court and possibly ordered to serve the 90-day sentence at that time.
The Southwest Crisis Center is available in our community to support and empower survivors of sexual and domestic violence. For questions about services or how you can help, contact the Southwest Crisis Center at 1-800-376-4311 or mnswcc.org .
