Man found guilty after DNA link to 2015 sexual assault | Local news

MANKATO – A judge found a man guilty of sexually abusing a minor in 2015 after DNA evidence linked him to the incident.

Lazarous Lazaro Thomas, 27, of Mankato and formerly of St. Peter, is guilty of four counts of sexual abuse with a minor in the first, second, third and fourth degrees, according to court records. Judge Mark Betters’ ruling came Friday after a single-judge trial in Blue Earth County District Court in late May.

The case against Thomas stems from a 2015 allegation made by a girl between the ages of 13 and 15. A criminal complaint says she told police a man climbed through her bedroom window in Mankato and sexually assaulted her while threatening to kill her if she screamed or did anything else to stop him.

The man then ordered her to get him something to drink. She then told her parents what had happened. When they returned to their bedroom, the man had disappeared and the police could not find any suspects in the area.

Although investigators collected DNA related to the incident, it did not match any profile in the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension database at the time. However, in 2022, the lab alerted Mankato police to a possible connection between Thomas and the 2015 incident.

In April 2023, police obtained a new DNA sample from Thomas using a search warrant, and results returned in July 2023 confirmed a connection to the 2015 incident, the complaint states.

The judge’s written findings in the case will be available by June 18. Thomas’s sentencing will occur sometime after July 25.

Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola

Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola