Man pleads guilty to sexually assaulting St. Paul woman

ST. PAUL, Minn. — The man accused of breaking into a St. Paul woman’s home and sexually assaulting her in April pleaded guilty Wednesday to one count of sexual assault and burglary.

As part of his guilty plea, 34-year-old Deonte Thomas will serve a total of 241 months in prison for both charges, according to the Ramsey County District Attorney’s Office. He will be formally sentenced on September 3.

On April 15, shortly before 4:30 a.m., emergency crews were dispatched to a home in the 300 block of Snelling Avenue South and found a visibly distraught woman sitting on the front steps, according to court documents. She told officers she was sleeping in her bedroom when she heard a knock on the side of the house and then saw a man – later identified as Thomas – break the glass on the door and reach in to unlock and open it.

RELATED TOPICS: Burglary and sexual assault charges filed against St. Paul homeowner

When asked what the intruder wanted, Thomas demanded to know where the money was, the victim says. The woman says she offered him her purse, but instead he physically attacked her.

The victim told investigators that after wrestling with her on the bathroom floor and on a bed, her attacker pulled a gun from his pants and sexually assaulted her.

DNA samples were taken from the victim’s body during a sexual assault investigation, while investigators obtained surveillance videos from residents in the neighborhood. Investigators say one of them showed a suspicious truck parked in the alley with five of six license plates visible. A DVS data search traced the pickup truck to Thomas. A still from another video showed a man on the property who the victim identified as her attacker. The defendant’s girlfriend also identified the man as Thomas.

Police say that after his arrest, Thomas told investigators he was “frustrated” and “angry” about his living conditions and randomly picked a home to break into. He allegedly admitted to robbing and then sexually assaulting the homeowner, but denied using a weapon.

Thomas will remain in the Ramsey County Jail until his official sentencing.

Check out the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:

Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other Smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all KARE 11 newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand newscast replays; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.