No Prison Time For Former Teacher Convicted Of Sexual Assault

BLOOMINGTON, MN — A former public school teacher from Bloomington will not face prison time after he was convicted of sexual assault in a case that dates back to April 2018.

Michael J. Lovestrand, 52, was found guilty of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in December. He was given credit for 141 days in prison already served, and he will be on supervised probation for seven years.

Under Minnesota law, a third-degree sexual conduct conviction carries a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison, a $30,000 fine, or both

Lovestrand does not have to serve any additional prison time if he does not violate his probation.

Judge Jay Quam's sentence, which was handed down on April 22, was less than what state sentencing guidelines call for. Quam justified the downward departure because the crime was "less onerous than usual," he said, and Lovestrand was "particularly amenable to probation."

Between 2004 and 2017, Lovestrand worked for Mounds View School District and St. Paul School District, the Star Tribune reported.

On Nov. 15, 2019, a St. Louis Park investigator met with a woman about a reported sexual assault. The woman said she met Lovestrand on a dating website and that on April 18, 2018, Lovestrand invited her to his apartment in Bloomington.

Lovestrand lived with his mother, but she wasn't home at the time, according to the criminal complaint.

After eating dinner, Lovestrand and the woman engaged in sexual intercourse. However, when the woman wanted to stop, Lovestrand refused, according to the criminal complaint.

The interaction left the woman with tearing and bleeding, authorities said. She told police that she tried to forget about it, but later decided to report the incident.