Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man who was arrested after a woman reported being sexually assaulted along a popular walking and biking trail last year has been convicted of a gross misdemeanor criminal offense.

Court records indicate 48-year-old Ryan Wayne Anderson was arrested in July 2023 after Rochester police officers responded to the Douglas Trail Head in northwest Rochester after a woman called 911 and reported that a man had grabbed her between her legs as she was walking her dog on the trail near the 41st Street Northwest pedestrian bridge.

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The woman told the officers that she happened upon a man sitting cross-legged in a wooded area just off the trail and that he then emerged onto the trail, unzipped a sweatshirt he was wearing, and began running at her.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police the man made a comment and then grabbed her. She indicated that she told him she was calling the police and he responded by fleeing the area on foot.

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photo by Kim David TSM
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Rochester police reported that, about 45 minutes later, officers responded to a report of a naked man on the Douglas Trail in the same area of the reported sexual assault. The arrest report stated that the officers found the man, who matched the description of the sexual assault suspect, and took him into custody.

Anderson was charged with felony counts of terroristic threats and fifth-degree assault, along with gross misdemeanor fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct. Under the terms of a plea agreement finalized today, Anderson entered an Alford plea to the gross misdemeanor charge in exchange for the dismissal of the felony offenses.

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An Alford plea means he does not admit guilt, but acknowledges there is sufficient evidence to convict him. In his Petition to Enter Plea of Guilty filed in Olmsted County Court, Anderson stated that he accidentally touched the woman, but a jury or judge would likely believe her version of the events.

The plea agreement document also acknowledges that, due to his criminal history, a conviction on the felony assault charge would have resulted in a presumptive prison sentence between 26-36 months.

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Anderson has an extensive history of criminal convictions dating back to 1995 that includes at least five felony convictions. Most of them involve harassment charges for incidents that occurred in Rice County.

He had been held in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center on $100,000 bail since his arrest more than a year ago. He was sentenced today to the time he has already served in jail.

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