Man accused of child sexual assault has one charge dismissed

Mark Wasson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Oct. 18—ROCHESTER — A 42-year-old Rochester man accused of sexually assaulting girls had one of his charges dismissed by the Olmsted County Attorney's Office because the statute of limitations expired.

Eric David McConnell is still facing one felony count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under 13 years old and one gross misdemeanor count of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving lewd conduct with someone under 16 years old present in two separate cases.

A gross misdemeanor charge of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving lewd exhibition with someone under 16 years old was dismissed on Oct. 2.

Recent changes by the Minnesota Legislature changed the statute of limitations for sex crimes except for fifth-degree criminal conduct, which still has a three-year statute of limitations.

In the case that was dismissed, McConnell was accused of exposing himself in front of two children under 16 years old several times between January 2009 and December 2011.

Fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct charges often stem from inappropriate touching where the severity level might not be as high as other forms of sexual assault, Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem told the Post Bulletin.

"Frankly, that's often what's starting down the road to be third or first-degree conduct, it starts out with some inappropriate touching," he said.

McConnell's lawyer, Austin Swisher, declined to comment about McConnell's cases, citing their active status.

In his felony case, McConnell is accused of sexually assaulting a girl under 13 years old at least 10 times between January 2009 and December 2011 at an Olmsted County residence.

Swisher has filed a motion to dismiss the charge, citing the lack of probable cause to believe McConnell committed the offense. A hearing for that case is scheduled for Nov. 8.

In McConnell's other case, he is accused of touching himself while he gave a 15-year-old girl a ride home around Nov. 5, 2022 in Rochester. A hearing for that case is scheduled for March 12, 2024.

"These are very traumatizing events for the victims involved and we take them seriously," Ostrem said, "Having said that, there are times, and this was one of them, where tweaks in the law get in the way that we just can't move forward on a case. That doesn't mean we don't think it happened, it doesn't mean that we don't think it was important but we're just barred and that's unfortunate."