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Dawada Steven Deputie (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriffâs Office)
A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 12Âœ years in prison for raping a woman and attempting to sexually assault a 14-year-old girl after sneaking into their bedrooms on the cityâs East Side in 2021.
Dawada Steven Deputie was convicted Wednesday of third-degree criminal sexual conduct, attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct and three counts of first-degree burglary in connection with five cases filed against him in Ramsey County District Court.
The 34-year-old had reached a plea deal with the prosecution Jan. 9 that included the 150-month prison term and dismissing six other charges. After confinement, Deputie must serve a statutorily required 10 years of conditional release and register as a predatory offender.
According to the charges, Deputie raped the woman May 23, 2021, after they met at a bonfire the night before at a home along Wheelock Parkway west of Jackson Street. After drinking and smoking marijuana with Deputie and others, the woman became âextremely intoxicatedâ and went to a spare bedroom about 2 a.m. to spend the night. She was awakened three hours later with Deputie raping her.
At Wednesdayâs sentencing, Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Dawn Bakst read a victim impact statement written by the woman, who was present in the courtroom. She said the attack has brought about daily depression and compounding anxiety in her life âbecause this is always looming in the back of my mind.â
âSometimes I just crawl into my bed and cry,â she said. âI once felt myself to be strong and invincible. Now I often feel small and vulnerable.â
Later cases
The attack was the first of Deputieâs five cases in 2021. According to the criminal complaints, between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, Deputie entered three apartments in the 1200 block of Hazelwood Street â one of them twice â and one house in the 1800 block of Stillwater Avenue, usually by climbing through windows.
On Sept. 20, about 2 a.m.: Police were called to a home on Stillwater Avenue where a man caught Deputie climbing in through a bathroom window. He confronted him and Deputie fell out the window and fled.
On Sept. 21: Police were called to an apartment on Hazelwood where a woman said she was in her bed just before midnight when she saw a man, later identified as Deputie, standing in her room, illuminating it with the flashlight feature on a cellphone. She seemingly scared him away, checked her house, closed an open window and relocked her front door. About 45 minutes later, he returned and got into bed with her. The two fought and he ran off.
On Sept. 30, about 4 a.m.: Police were called to an apartment on Hazelwood where a woman reported a man, later identified as Deputie, in her apartment. She said several items were stolen.
On Oct. 4: Just before midnight, the same woman reported waking up and finding a man, later identified as Deputie, on the ground in her apartment attempting to sexually assault her 14-year-old granddaughter, who had been sleeping in the bed next to her. He had removed her underwear when the grandmother woke and chased him out of the apartment.
Police learned later that a woman living in a neighboring apartment building told police she was sleeping on the living room couch when a man, later identified as Deputie, broke the living room window, shattering broken glass all over her. She and her mother ran next door for help.
A man in that apartment went out to look for the suspect and found him hiding by the trash collection area between a used bed and a bin. He and a friend chased the man and were able to grab him. Deputie got away from them but was soon caught by police, the complaint states.
When caught, Deputie said, âIâm gonna need a lawyer,â the complaint states.
Apology, then a denial
On Wednesday, Deputie was given a chance to address the court. He apologized to the victims âfor any harm doneâ and to his own 10-year-old daughter for being jailed.
He then told Ramsey County District Judge Kellie Charles that he was innocent of the charges. Earlier in the hearing, Charles denied a motion Deputieâs attorney filed requesting that the plea agreement be withdrawn.
Charles told Deputie she was going to sentence him in accordance with the plea agreement, âwhich actually is quite generous, considering that all of these cases could have been sentenced consecutively.â
https://www.twincities.com/2023/05/04/st-paul-bedroom-invader-sentenced-for-rape-four-other-cases/
