Felony charges dismissed against Prior Lake High School grad charged with alleged rape

Prior Lake American

A 2016 Prior Lake High School graduate will not face a jury trial regarding an alleged rape at a Mankato party after a plea deal in the case was reached in Blue Earth County District Court earlier this month.

Donte Zemaitis-Thomas, 20, had been charged with three felonies — two counts of criminal sexual conduct and one count of false imprisonment in connection to the alleged rape. He had pleaded not guilty in February to those charges and a jury trial was scheduled to begin on July 17.

As part of a plea deal entered July 10, Zemaitis-Thomas pleaded guilty to fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct for nonconsensual sexual contact, a gross misdemeanor. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 1.

According to the criminal complaint:

A Mankato Department of Public Safety officer was dispatched to the Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato on Oct. 19 to investigate a possible sexual assault. At that time, the victim told the officer she’d been forced to have sex with someone at a party.

A witness told police she had found the victim in the bathroom of the house, “hysterical” on the floor. The victim told the witness that a man from the party, who she only knew as “Donte,” had raped her. The witness also saw a ripped condom wrapper on the floor.

The victim told police she went to the bathroom and as she went to leave, the man allegedly pushed her into the bathroom and raped her. She told police she told him “no” multiple times and attempted to escape.

The victim told police that the man ordered her to stay in the bathroom and then left.

Police identified Zemaitis-Thomas as a suspect and a warrant for his arrest was issued on Oct. 23. He was arrested and booked into Blue Earth County Jail on Nov. 1.

Zemaitis-Thomas faces up to one year in jail for the gross misdemeanor charge, though the state will argue for up to 60 days as part of the plea deal, according to the Blue Earth County Attorney’s Office.