(KNSI) — A jury in Stearns County has acquitted a man accused of raping a sleeping woman at a St. Cloud hotel in 2019.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to the Days Inn on September 1st, 2019, to investigate a sexual assault complaint. A woman there told police she had been drinking with friends that day, including a man named Kyle Kirsch. About 1:00 that afternoon, the woman, Kirsch, and another man went to her room to nap. She said when she went to sleep, she was fully clothed. When she woke up, her pants and underwear were pulled down to her knees, and Kirsch was on top of her. She said she did not consent to sex with Kirsch.
According to the criminal complaint, Kirsch told police they had been drinking that day, and they were in bed cuddling, but he did not have sex with the woman but said the two were friends and she had no reason to lie.
Kirsch was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim who is mentally impaired or helpless. He was scheduled to go on trial last year, but it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has been released from jail.
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