White Bear Lake man, 28, pleads guilty to sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl
One of five Minnesota men facing criminal sexual conduct charges for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl pleaded guilty on Friday, according to court documents.
Mitchell Wetzel, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
If his plea is accepted, court documents say Wetzel will be put on probation for five years and will be added to the predatory offender registry for 10 years. If Wetzel violates probation within the first three years, he will serve 120 days in jail followed by 10 years of conditional release. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 23.
Charges say Wetzel met the victim through social media and assaulted her on June 14. An undercover officer accessed the victim's Snapchat and made contact with Wetzel, saying the victim needed a ride and he agreed to meet her. On July 1, police arrested Wetzel, who admitted in a post-Miranda statement to having assaulted the girl.
The charges came after the victim's father called police on June 13 to report she had run away from their home in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. The man told police his daughter "had a history of running away from the home to engage in sexual behavior with older men in exchange for money," according to the complaint. Three days later, officers found his daughter in Minneapolis and brought her to a hospital.
The girl identified five men who assaulted her, named in court documents as Wetzel, of White Bear Lake; Sona Wakuma, 26; Jesse Suiter, 20; Keaton Moen, 29; and Kyle Schneider, 37. They all face a count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, while Wakuma also faces a count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct.
If you know of a child who may have been a victim of exploitation, call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678 or visit the website.
Sexual Assault Resources
- (SOS – Ramsey County)
- Sexual Violence Center (SVC – Hennepin County)
- Aurora Center (U of MN)
- 360 Communities (Dakota County)
- Hope Center (Rice County)
- Canvas Health (Washington County)
- Alexandra House (Anoka County)
General Sites for information related to sexual assault and resources throughout Minnesota:
General Sexual Assault Websites:
