An ex-Sacred Heart resident who admitted to sexually assaulting a young girl in Renville was given a 72-month prison term for the offence of second-degree criminal sexual conduct.
On September 16, Anthony James Negen, 74, admitted guilt. A second count of criminal sexual conduct was dropped as part of a plea bargain.
At the Nov. 21 sentencing hearing in Renville County District Court, Judge Laurence Stratton also mandated that Negen register as a predatory offender and remain on conditional release for the rest of his life.
According to Minnesota law, offenders must spend at least two-thirds of a sentence in jail and may serve the final third on supervised release. According to the website of the state Department of Corrections, Negen is anticipated to be released from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud on December 14, 2026.
The sentence is a downward deviation, which means that it is shorter than what the sentencing guidelines call for. The departure report lists several justifications for the reduced sentence, including the criminal demonstrating regret or taking responsibility, the juvenile and her family agreeing to the suggested penalty, and avoiding traumatising the minor witness at trial.
The adolescent addressed on the record at sentencing how Negen’s acts affected herself and her family and how it will affect them going forward, according to a news release released by Renville County Attorney Kelsie Kingstrom.
In a forensic interview in September 2021, the girl allegedly recounted instances of sexual abuse, according to the criminal complaint. She stated that from 2013 to 2021, a period of around eight years, the abuse had been taking place. When she was between the ages of 5 and 8 years old, she first recalls the abuse.
The child claimed that Sacred Heart’s remote areas saw a lot of abuse. She claimed that as she grew older, Negen kissed her with his tongue and touched her more frequently.
According to Kingstrom’s news release, Negen was previously found guilty of second-degree criminal sexual behaviour in 1984.
Kingstrom stated in her news release that most criminal sexual conduct cases involve child abuse, and that such abuse is frequently committed by a family member or close family acquaintance.
She advised parents to pay attention to their kids and take their reports of abuse seriously. “In my experience, false reporting of a crime of this sort by a child is very uncommon.”
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