A Duluth man who, according to his attorney, is developmentally disabled was sentenced to six years in prison Monday after admitting to attempting to sexually assault a woman along the Old Trolley Trail in Morgan Park last year.
Levi Derek Haase, 30, pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct in the July 11, 2010, incident. As part of the plea agreement, a second count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct was dismissed.
Haase declined to address the court before being sentenced by 6th Judicial District Judge John DeSanto. Defense attorney Richard Holmstrom said his client is very remorseful.
"I've gotten to know him in the past year and I know that he feels bad for the victim," Holmstrom said in a phone interview after the hearing. "He wishes it had never happened, but it did and we have to deal with it. I thought it was a reasonable sentence from the defendant's point of view. Hopefully, things will work out for him and the young lady involved."
According to the criminal complaint, Haase told Duluth police he was riding his bike when he saw a woman he didn't know walking on the trail. He grabbed her from behind and told her that he wanted to have sex with her. When she attempted to pull away, he forced her down on a mud path. He said he positioned himself behind her and began to apply pressure on her throat with his arms in a type of a chokehold. The victim fought back. She struggled and screamed, causing the assailant to increase the grip on her throat to the point where she couldn't breathe. She said she felt as though she were either going to die or pass out.
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Haase was accused of putting his hands inside the woman's clothing and sexually assaulting her while attempting to remove her clothes. The woman said her assailant identified himself as "Jason," and that he was 29 years old. He said he wanted her to be his girlfriend. He said he was afraid she would tell police and wanted assurances that she would not tell anyone what happened. He then apologized for what he had done and made the victim kiss him and provide information that would allow him to contact her in the future.
The victim ran to a relative's home in Morgan Park and contacted police. She was taken to a hospital emergency room, examined by a sexual assault nurse and treated for multiple abrasions.
Haase underwent a psycho-sexual evaluation before being sentenced. Holmstrom said his client wasn't able to take one of the tests while being evaluated because it required a seventh-grade reading level, which he hadn't attained.
As part of his sentence, Haase must register as a predatory offender and be placed on conditional release for 10 years after his release from prison. The conditions of release may include successful completion of treatment and aftercare in a program approved by the commissioner of corrections.
