A western Minnesota man received a 7½-year term Monday for holding a woman captive in her St. Catherine University dorm room in St. Paul for four days while he raped, beat and waterboarded her before she escaped.
7½-year term for Granite Falls man who held St. Kate’s student captive in her dorm for days
Sentence calls for first five years of his term in prison, with the balance on supervised release.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 4, 2024 at 10:16PM
Keanu A. Labatte, 20, of Granite Falls, Minn., was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court after he pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the attack in early September 2023.
With credit for time in jail after his arrest, Labatte is expected to serve the about five years of his term in prison and the balance on supervised release.
The sentence matches the maximum that was spelled out in the plea agreement between the defense and the prosecution.
A spokesman for the County Attorney’s Office said prosecutors will ask for Labatte to receive the full 7½-year term.
According to the charges and other court documents, the woman went to security at the Catholic women’s university to report the abuse she endured from Labatte, whom she had dated and who had become jealous over texts, photos and social media content tying her to other men. School security alerted police.
She told police that Labatte squeezed his hands around her neck and raped her. He also forced her into the bathtub and “engaged in waterboarding by covering her mouth with a wet washcloth,” the charges said. At one point, he brandished a knife and threatened to kill her.
The woman escaped after persuading Labatte to let her go to the cafeteria; instead she went to police. As she told police what happened, Labatte was calling and texting her cellphone, which he had given back to her under the condition that she take a photo of herself getting food. He texted at one point asking why police were outside.
Police went to the woman’s room, found Labatte still there and arrested him.
At the time of his arrest, Labatte was on probation for violating a restraining order issued in November in Yellow Medicine County on behalf of a 17-year-old girl.
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