A Lake Benton, Minnesota, man was sentenced to 24 years in the state penitentiary Wednesday for raping, soliciting and having sexual contact with underage girls.

Tristen Simonsen pleaded guilty in Brookings County Circuit Court in October to one count of sexual contact with a child under 16, which involved one victim; one count of fourth-degree rape, involving a second victim; and two counts of solicitation of a minor, which involved both victims.

In announcing the sentence, Judge Dawn Elshere said she tried to balance justice, retribution for the victims and hope for rehabilitation, but ultimately said she believed Simonsen was a danger to the community.

“I have not heard any empathy from the defendant,” Elshere said. “He sees himself as the victim in this matter.”

Elshere also said she was concerned with the pre-sentencing psychosexual assessment of Simonsen’s risk to reoffend.

“I have seen a lot of those and I don’t think I have seen one with such a high risk to reoffend for such a young man.”

Simonsen, 20, was 18 years old when the crimes were committed between October 2020 and January 2021. The two female victims were 12 to 14 years old during the time period of the offenses.

State’s Attorney Dan Nelson sent The Register this statement after the verdict:

“The victims in this case displayed tremendous courage and bravery to step forward and disclose the actions of Mr. Simonsen. The primary concern with this type of case is to obtain accountability without causing further trauma by asking victims to testify about the abuse at trial. We felt our recommendation of 30 years in prison on the guilty plea accomplished that. The term of prison is significant for Mr. Simonsen, who was 18 years old at the time of his arrest. Social media apps like Tik Tok and Snapchat continue to provide an avenue for predators like Mr. Simonsen to manipulate and solicit victims, so I would urge all parents to monitor their children’s use of all social media to ensure they remain protected.” 

Arguing for the state, Deputy State’s Attorney Dan Kleinjan said “I cannot accurately express the suffering caused to these middle school girls — and to their parents, their families, their school, and honestly the whole community.” 

“This needs to stop rather than perpetuate,” Kleinjan said. He also argued Simonsen quickly developed a pattern of offending and that “The psychosexual evaluation is pretty telling. This is not a problem that is going away any time soon.”

Simonsen pleaded guilty to the four charges in exchange for the state seeking a sentence of 30 years, which they did at sentencing Wednesday — 10 years each for sexual contact and fourth-degree rape, and five years for each of the solicitation charges, with all of the time to run consecutively. He faced a maximum of 50 years in prison.

Arguing for the defense, attorney Reed Mahlke said the case had terrible facts but also that his client had a possibility for rehabilitation. He noted that Simonsen has been diagnosed with mental illness while in custody and that his behavior seemed to come out of nowhere with few — if any — red flags.

Elshere agreed with that part of Mahlke’s argument during her sentencing, but also took notice of the courtroom full of victim’s families, saying “I do want to note them and I know that nothing this court can say today will take away what happened. And it will affect them the rest of their lives. I do take that into account. The victims are not a part of any plea agreement.”

“I assure you, nothing that happened here is your fault, and I hope you will be able to heal one day,” Elshere said.

Elshere sentenced Simonsen to 15 years each on the rape and criminal sexual contact charges, with five years suspended on each. She sentenced him to 5 years on both of the solicitation charges, suspending 3 on each.

Simonsen will eventually be eligible for parole, provided he pays his fines in the amount of $2,000, abides by the rules of the pardons and parole board, pays $2250 restitution for the cost of the psychosexual assessment and registers as a sex offender for the rest of his life. 

Elshere also credited Simonsen with 663 days time served. He was remanded to custody of the Brookings County Sheriff’s department for transportation to the state penitentiary in Sioux Falls.

Linehan is the Register’s managing editor and welcomes comments at jlinehan@brookingsregister.com.