Rosemount Man Arrested for Criminal Sexual Conduct

A Rosemount man has been arrested and charged with inappropriately touching a woman at a party in Rosemount earlier this year.

Matthew James Drake, 20, is charged with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a gross misdemeanor which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

A nationwide arrest warrant was issued earlier this month for Drake, who was arrested Thursday.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police that Drake sexually assaulted her at a party July 14 in Rosemount.

The victim said she had been drinking before she arrived at the party, and continued to drink when she got there. At one point, she decided to go to sleep, so she went upstairs and lay down on a bed, she told police.

She said she woke up a few hours later and found Drake pulling down her pants. She said that when she rolled over, he pretended to be sleeping.

The victim said she moved as far away as possible from Drake and fell asleep again. The next time she woke up, Drake had pulled down her shorts and was fondling her genitals and seemed to be trying to have sex with her, she told police.

When she realized what was happening, she jumped out of bed and ran downstairs, she told police. She said Drake followed her downstairs, and when she confronted him, he said, “Fine, I’ll admit I touched you,” and told her he’d liked her for a long time.

The victim said she hadn’t given Drake permission to have sexual contact with her, and that she hadn’t flirted with him or led him to believe that she was interested in him.

Drake told police that the victim was “so drunk, she was knocking over wine glasses,” according to the complaint. He admitted touching her genitals over her clothing and said the contact was consensual until the victim received a text message, after which she suddenly became upset and ran out of the room.

The victim told police that she couldn’t have received a text message because her phone service had been discontinued and wasn’t restored until July 15, which police confirmed.

On July 21, the victim took part in a “controlled call” with Drake, during which he acknowledged that she hadn’t given him any indication that she was interested in him. He told the victim that he didn’t treat her the way she deserved to be treated, apologized to her and asked her not to press charges against him, according to the complaint.

Drake told the victim that he was homeless because of the incident and planned to move away from Minnesota.