The Hibbing man accused of breaking into a home and sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl in May 2016 will avoid trial.
Travis Lee Turk, 28, pleaded guilty to felony counts of first-degree burglary and kidnapping before Judge David Ackerson on Monday in State District Court in Hibbing.
Three additional charges, including two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, will be dismissed in exchange for the plea.
Assistant St. Louis County Attorney Kristen Swanson said Turk admitted guilt to the offenses, but a portion of the plea - a requirement that he admit he committed a predatory offense motivated by sexual impulses - was accepted on an Alford basis, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence for a judge or jury to make that finding.
Under the agreement, Swanson said Turk will face an above-guideline prison term of between 142 and 200 months when sentenced on Nov. 30. He remains in custody without bail.
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According to the criminal complaint:
Turk admitted to his live-in girlfriend that he had molested the girl and that he had a history of molesting "about 15 other children" while he was a teenager.
The complaint states that Hibbing police officers responded just before 1 a.m. on May 31, 2016, to a call on the 100 block of East 25th Street and spoke with a woman who said she woke up hearing her child screaming and found a man holding the child.
"She told the male to 'drop my kid,' " the complaint noted, and the man complied, then ran downstairs and out of the home. Officers later found a screen had been removed from a downstairs window that had been opened.
Officers searched the area but were initially unable to locate the suspect. An investigation was set in motion, and after obtaining a search warrant, authorities arrested Turk that evening.
According to the complaint, Turk drank a bottle of rum before the incident and afterward told his girlfriend about the assault, saying he had been watching the house - which was a few blocks from his residence - for several months because he knew the little girl lived there. He asked his girlfriend to cover for him and provide him with an alibi. Instead, she told police everything he had said.
The child was taken to a hospital, where it was determined the child was not physically injured, officials said.
The News Tribune contributed to this report.
