A Chisholm city councilor was sentenced Monday in District Court in Hibbing following his conviction this summer on a gross misdemeanor charge related to a groping claim. Kevin R. Scaia, 51, was sentenced by Judge Mark Starr to two years of supervised probation and 30 days of jail or 60 days of community-related service.
Scaia had been found guilty by a jury in July of fifth degree criminal sexual conduct. Scaia had been accused of aggressively grabbing a woman's breast in September 2017 at the T&T Dom bar in Chisholm.
The victim's mother read a victim impact statement at the sentencing, and also read one on the victim's behalf, said a St. Louis County Attorney's Office news release announcing the sentencing.
The statements described the profound impact the sexual assault has had on the entire family. The victim noted: "This has consumed over a year of my life with stress, nightmares, and at times paralyzing anxiety. Several times it seemed easier to just give up. I knew, however, that if I did, this behavior would continue and there would be more victims in the future."
There were several conditions attached to Scaia's probation, including no unsupervised use of the internet, a requirement to complete and follow recommendations of a chemical dependency assessment, to have no use or possession of alcohol or other mood-altering substances, and a prohibition from being in establishments and gatherings where alcohol is served. Scaia will also be prohibited from using or possessing firearms at his residence, with the exception of being allowed to use a firearm during deer hunting season, which must be approved of by probation.
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The case was investigated by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office Investigator Mark Steel, without whom, there would have been no justice for the victim, St. Louis County Attorney's Office noted.
Scaia is a first-term councilor elected in 2014. He ran for re-election this year, but lost the primary in August.
