Monday, May 20, 2013
The bill was sponsored by District 46 legislators.
The Minnesota Child Victims Act sponsored by District 46 legislators is just a signature away from becoming law. The Senate approved the conference committee report on the bill 57-0 Friday, and the House signed off on the amended bill 123-3 the same day. The act now only awaits Gov. Mark Dayton’s approval. The Minnesota State Supreme Court has interpreted existing state law to mean that the statute of limitations on civil sexual abuse lawsuits closes by the time the plaintiff turns 24 years old. The Child Victims Act would remove the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits stemming from sexual abuse going forward. Victims would also be able to sue schools, churches or any other group that they accuse of failing to protect them. Sen. Ron …
Thursday, May 2, 2013
The bill, which was authored by local legislators, would remove the statute of limitations for civil sexual abuse lawsuits.
St. Louis Park and Hopkins Rep. Steve Simon (DFL-District 46B) has successfully pushed a bill through the state House that would remove the statute of limitations on sexual abuse cases. The House passed the Child Victims Act on a 115-7 vote Wednesday. A companion bill in the Senate—authored by Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 46), whose district includes Golden Valley, Hopkins, Plymouth and St. Louis Park—is still awaiting a floor vote. If it passes, a conference committee will take up the House and Senate versions of the bills to iron out differences. “This is a great day for justice for survivors of sexual abuse,” a news release from Simon’s office quoted the state representative. “Today’s vote signaled a strong bipartisan appetite for much-…
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Police say Daniel Scott Pollack tried to sexually assault a sleeping woman, who woke up to find him pulling off her clothes.
A St. Louis Park man has been charged with trying to sexually assault a woman at a party in Hopkins. Daniel Scott Pollack, 22, is charged with attempted third-degree criminal sexual conduct of a physically helpless victim, a felony with a maximum penalty of seven and a half years in prison and a $15,000 fine. A conviction carries a mandatory minimum penalty of a $9,000 fine. Hopkins police were called to a home Dec. 9 to investigate a reported sexual assault, according to the criminal complaint signed by Hopkins Police Detective Raymond Laudenbach. Officers met the victim, who was upset and crying. She told police that she woke up to find Pollack pulling off her pants and her underwear. The woman said she had been at a party in the home …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Police say Todd Steven Wehner, registered in Texas as a sex offender, beat the woman and then sexually assaulted her on Thanksgiving night.
A registered sex offender who lives in Hopkins has been charged with sexually assaulting an Edina woman then throwing her out of the house partially nude. Todd Steven Wehner, also known as Todd Wayner, 49, is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. Edina police were called just after 10 p.m. Nov. 22 to investigate a domestic assault, according to the criminal complaint, signed by Edina Police Sgt. Brian Tholen. They found the victim near Wehner’s Hopkins home, crying and with a number of injuries, according to the court documents. The woman told officers that she and Wehner, whom she described as her boyfriend, had been drinking earlier in the evening and …
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Police say Edgar Jesus Gonzalez-Mendoza had repeated sexual contact with the girl.
A Hopkins man has been charged with having repeated inappropriate sexual contact with his 6-year-old niece. Edgar Jesus Gonzalez-Mendoza, 32, faces two felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. Officers were called to a Minneapolis home July 3 after the victim’s parents reported that she had been sexually abused by Gonzalez-Mendoza, according to the criminal complaint, signed by Minneapolis Police Sgt. Patrick Myslajek. The child’s father told police that earlier that day, he and the victim, along with Gonzalez-Mendoza, drove to a downtown Minneapolis pawnshop. The girl’s father said he parked and left Gonzalez-Mendoza sitting in the front seat, …
Monday, April 23, 2012
The girl, who was born in 2004, said the assaults began when she was 4 or 5 years old.
Police arrested a Golden Valley man after an underaged Hopkins girl said he sexually assaulted her beginning when she was 4 or 5 years old. The girl told police April 9 that 50-year-old Paul Frederick Bellefleur, a family friend, forced her to perform oral sex on him, Hopkins Police Officer Renee Meuwissen wrote in charging documents filed Friday. The girl, who was born in 2004, told a forensic examiner that Bellefleur also performed oral sex on her. She said the first sexual assault began when she was still in preschool and about 4 or 5 years old, according to the charging documents. She was last in contact with Bellefleur over the Fourth of July weekend. Prosecutors allege the sexual assaults took place between 2008 and July 4, 2011. The…
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Mike Hindin
2:48 pm on Friday, May 3, 2013
Certainly there have been cases of prosecutorial zeal and political ambitioon getting in the way of justice. We have seen DNA evidence used to exonerate death row inmates, etc. The proposed extension of limitations is to civil remedies with a significant cost to initiate litigation and failure is subject to court costs and defendants attorney fees etc. Cost is a significant gateway to suing under… more ›