MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 47-year-old Hastings man pleaded guilty Friday to sexually assaulting a St. Catherine’s student last November, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said.
Louis Richard Oliver pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual conduct in Hennepin County District Court. He is expected to be sentenced to more than 21 years in prison as part of a plea agreement.
The sexual assault happened on Nov. 19, 2012, when the student was walking to a St. Catherine’s building near Minneapolis’ Riverside Park. Oliver approached the student, demanded money and took her to a wooded area, claiming he had a gun.
Oliver stole the student’s backpack, wallet, credit cards, hit her in the face, and sexually assaulted her before she could escape and get help.
Oliver was arrested later that month when a Ramsey County deputy thought Oliver matched a composite sketch the student worked on.
The deputy made contact with Oliver after he was reportedly approaching women in a parking lot, asking if they had jumper cables. When security guards asked to see his car, however, Oliver could not find it.
After he was arrested, the St. Catherine’s student positively identified Oliver in a photographic lineup, and authorities found that he was registered as a sex offender.
The attorney’s office said that the sexual assault had a “major impact” on students at St. Catherine’s University, which is a girls college.
Oliver is slated to be sentenced on May 16.
