Minnesota appeals court overturns conviction of man who said he ‘thought about raping his accuser’

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled Monday that while a St. Paul man admitted to police that he “thought about raping” a woman he strangled in 2020, that confession alone was not enough to justify the attempted first-degree sexual abuse charge for which he was sentenced in 2023.

Justice Matthew E. Johnson wrote in his majority opinion that the applicable legal standard justifying the decision is as follows: When the State introduces a defendant’s confession into evidence at trial, it must “corroborate the confession by presenting independent evidence establishing with a reasonable probability that the specific crime charged in the indictment actually occurred.”

On May 11, 2020, 44-year-old Nicholas Lee Hill attacked the property manager of a subsidized senior housing facility in Minneapolis. He had previously been to the building three or four times to apply for housing. The property manager agreed to show Hill an apartment. Once inside, he pushed her into a large closet and began choking her.

Her screams were heard by a co-worker who called 911 and attempted to kick the door in. The property manager scratched Lee’s face and told him he had to stop – which he did. He then pulled out a knife and gave it to the property manager before leaving the apartment, repeatedly saying, “I’m sorry.”

When questioned by police, Hill said he became aroused and “thought about raping the woman, whoever she was there,” but her reaction stopped him.

Hill was arraigned on two counts in Hennepin County District Court. He was acquitted of attempted first-degree sexual abuse while armed with a dangerous weapon and convicted of attempted first-degree sexual abuse using force or coercion to cause personal injury.

He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The appeals court overturned the verdict on Monday.

Hill was previously sentenced to 90 months in prison for sexual assault in 2014. According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, his earliest release date for the overturned conviction was set for May 13, 2030. It is unclear whether he will now be released from prison. A message was left with Hill’s attorney and the Hennepin County District Attorney’s Office seeking comment.

At trial, Hill’s prosecutor testified under cross-examination that “During the assault, Hill did not touch any ‘intimate parts’ of her body, did not attempt to undress her, did not undress herself, and did not make any comments of a sexual nature.”

Johnson’s opinion focused on the concept of “corpus delicti,” a legal term that states that a person should not be convicted unless they can be proven to have committed a crime. Although Hill admitted to thinking about sexual assault, Minnesota law required the state to prove that Hill attempted to physically sexually abuse his victim.

In this area, the Court of Appeal found that the State’s reasoning was inadequate.

Johnson wrote, “In this case, the underlying, unconsummated substantive crime is sexual misconduct in the first degree with the use of force or coercion resulting in personal injury. The elements of this crime are ‘(1) the intentional act of sexual penetration, (2) without the consent of the plaintiff, (3) causing personal injury to the plaintiff, and (4) through the use of force or coercion.'”

In Hill’s case, the state had to prove that he had committed “an act that constitutes a substantial step toward the commission of the crime and goes beyond the preparation for it.”

The state argued that it had presented evidence that Hill visited the apartment several times, isolated the property manager in an apartment, pushed her into a closet and began choking her. The appeals court found this to be evidence of an assault, but not an attempted sexual assault.

Johnson continued in his report: “We recognize that a person in the position of apartment manager in a case such as this might fear sexual assault or have the impression that sexual assault was imminent. However, that was clearly not the case in this case.”

In a dissenting opinion, Judge Peter M. Reyes Jr. wrote that even considering the majority opinion that intent must be proven with physical evidence and not just a confession, the evidence presented by the state clearly showed that Hill had attempted to carry out the sexual assault he confessed to police.

Reyes pointed out that the actions and statements of the property manager were clear evidence of the crime that had just taken place.

“That’s why she was banging on the walls, scratching him, telling him to stop, and that’s why she later testified that she thought she had to find a way to get out of the situation. These circumstances not only indicate that the defendant is guilty, but they also point infallibly to the only conclusion a woman in her situation would reach: that the defendant intended to engage in criminal sexual conduct.”