RAMSEY COUNTY — A Granite Falls man, Keanu Avery Labatte, 20, was sentenced on Monday to 90 months in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct for holding his girlfriend captive and assaulting her in a St. Catherine University dorm room in September 2023. Labatte will receive credit for 16 days of time served and must register as a sex offender for life. Additionally, he is prohibited from contacting the victim under a Domestic Abuse No Contact Order.
According to court documents, Labatte visited the university to see his girlfriend, but after seeing messages on her phone, he launched into a weekend of physical and sexual abuse. The criminal complaint describes multiple assaults, including waterboarding the victim and threatening her with a knife. The victim managed to escape by convincing Labatte to let her get food from the dining hall, where she contacted campus security.
Labatte was still in the dorm room when police arrived and was taken into custody. Evidence collected included a folding knife and a damp washcloth used during the assaults. Records indicate he was on probation for violating a restraining order involving a different woman at the time of the incident.
