MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 47-year-old Hastings man has been charged with allegedly sexually assaulting a St. Catherine’s student in Minneapolis.
According to the criminal complaint, on Nov. 19, the victim was walking to a St. Catherine’s College building near Riverside Park in Minneapolis when she was approached by a male stranger. After asking the victim for money, he grabbed her by the arm and claimed to have a gun.
He took the victim onto a trail in a wooded side of the park and robbed the victim of cash, her backpack, wallet and financial cards. Then, the complaint says he forcibly pulled down the victim’s pants, pulled off her panties and sexually assaulted her with his finger. He also struck the victim in the face, leaving an abrasion.
The victim fled when the man told her to come with him to an ATM to get money. She was able to receive help from other people in the area.
The victim later worked with an agent from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to create a composite sketch.
Later, on Nov. 27, a suspicious man was detained at Regions Hospital in St. Paul. He allegedly approached women in the parking ramp asking for jumper cables for his car. However, hospital security went to where the man said his car was parked and he could not find it.
That’s when a Ramsey County deputy, who was assisting security, identified the man as Louis Richard Oliver. The deputy had seen the aforementioned composite sketch and believed he matched the sketch.
After Oliver was detained, officers did a background check on him and discovered he is a registered sex offender. The victim later positively identified him as the assailant in a photographic lineup.
The complaint says that Oliver denied involvement in the attack and said he was at work during the time of the attack. Officers checked Oliver’s employer, however, and learned that he did not come to work on the day of the attack.
Oliver faces one felony count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison and/or a $40,000 fine plus conditional release.
