A 20-year-old registered sex offender waited inside the girls' locker room for nearly an hour before attacking a Brainerd High School staff member early Monday morning, charging documents revealed.
Jared Allen-Tristen McCormack of Brainerd faces three felony charges as a result of the alleged assault, which Brainerd police responded to at 6:48 a.m. Monday, Feb. 11. A 36-year-old woman who works at the high school reported a man grabbed her around the neck and face to silence any screaming in the locker room after a morning run.
According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police she arrived at the school at 4:40 a.m. to work out with school equipment. By 6:20 a.m., she had showered, dried her hair and dressed herself when a man came up behind her and placed his arm around her neck and mouth. He said nothing as the victim struggled to get away from him, pulling her backwards or trying to pull her down, the complaint stated. At one point, the suspect allegedly placed both his hands on her mouth.
Eventually, he ran out of the locker room, at which time she ran out of the exit door on the opposite side into the gymnasium to ask coaches and basketball players to call the police. The woman had scrapes on her knees and other injuries consistent with her description of the assault. She later told police she realized the man was not a faculty member when she smelled a strong odor of cigarette smoke on the attacker, and he wearing dark clothing and a face mask.
When police arrived within minutes of the attack, they received a description of the suspect from a witness who recognized him. Another school employee told police she recognized McCormack as he left the building, the complaint stated. The employee reported knowing McCormack was a registered sex offender who was told he could not be at the school. She planned to report McCormack to the school resource officer when he arrived.
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Police located McCormack, who claimed he was at the Holiday Stationstore on South Sixth Street near the school. McCormack stated he was there on and off during the morning hours, according to the complaint. He denied being at the school and stated he knew he couldn't be there because he is a sex offender and was told he could not be on school property.
Not only was McCormack not supposed to be in the school, as a registered sex offender, he is not supposed to have any contact with anyone age 18 and younger, according to his probation conditions.
Surveillance video from the Holiday store shows the defendant going in and out of the store, wearing clothes consistent with the victim's description-black pants, a black jacket and a face mask.
Security video from the school shows McCormack entering the building in clothing matching the Holiday store surveillance video. He is seen in various locations, then enters the girls' locker room about 5:25 a.m., the complaint stated. The woman is seen entering the locker room at 6:20 a.m., and at 6:43 a.m. exits in a frantic and hurried manner.
McCormack is seen on video leaving the locker room at 6:45 a.m. and is no longer wearing the dark jacket. A dark jacket was located in the garbage can near the locker room and collected by officers. When McCormack was taken into custody he did not have on black pants. Black pants were located in a garbage can in the downtown area.
McCormack was charged Wednesday, Feb. 13, in Crow Wing County District Court in Brainerd. He faces first-degree burglary-assault, attempted kidnapping and attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct through using force.
McCormack was on probation when he allegedly attacked the woman. He was convicted of felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct Nov. 13, 2017, in Cass County District Court for having sexual intercourse with a 13-year-old girl. He also faces two counts of fifth-degree assault from an incident this past November in Brainerd.
Criminal history
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According to court records, McCormack's first criminal sexual conduct conviction stemmed from an incident on July 23, 2017, in Cass County. The criminal complaint stated a mother of a 13-year-old girl reported she got home early from work and found two males in her house. One of the males was identified as McCormack, who told her he didn't want to meet her in this fashion the first time they met. He told the mother he was dating her daughter, and the 13-year-old told the mother she and McCormack had sexual intercourse.
The girl was in ninth grade at the time and McCormack was 19. After receiving his Miranda rights, McCormack said he met the girl and they had a sexual conversation, and he admitted to engaging in sexual intercourse.
He was sentenced Nov. 15, 2017. He received an imposed sentence of 10 years of supervised probation and was ordered to pay a $210 fine. An imposed sentence means the felony conviction may be reduced to a misdemeanor if the defendant completes his probation successfully. McCormack was to attend a sex offender program and not possess any pornography or sexual materials.
In January 2018, CORE Professional Services in Brainerd wrote a letter to the court that McCormack's sex offender treatment would be terminated as he failed to make adequate progress. The letter stated he failed to attend his individual session and was dishonest about his reason to be absent. He later confessed to accessing pornography on several different internet-capable devices over the past two weeks. The letter stated he may benefit from correctional consequences to motivate him to change his behavior and invest in his treatment.
Court records indicated McCormack violated his probation June 11, 2018, and he served 60 days in the Cass County Jail in Walker. After his release from jail, he was to again attend a court-ordered sex offender program. McCormack completed the psychosexual assessment and a neuropsychological assessment in 2018.
McCormack then failed to appear for a court hearing Nov. 21, 2018, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. McCormack was arrested a day earlier by Brainerd police, after a Nov. 20, 2018, incident. He was charged with two counts of fifth-degree assault in Crow Wing County District Court.
According to the court document filed in the fifth-degree assault case, Brainerd police were dispatched to a residence after a neighbor reporting hearing a male and female arguing. Walking up to the residence, the responding officer reported he heard two loud sounds that sounded like "snaps" or loud cracking coming from inside the residence. The officer walked to a partly uncovered window and observed a girl running through the residence screaming. He then observed a man chasing the girl with a belt in his hands, partially wrapped around one hand.
The officer believed the sounds he heard were the sounds of the belt being snapped. He went to the door of the residence, knocked and announced his presence, asking for someone to answer the door. Everyone in the house went silent. Believing the young girl observed may have been in the process of being assaulted, the officer tried the door, found it to be unlocked and opened the door, the complaint stated.
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The officer again loudly announced himself, telling occupants to come to the door. No one answered. He entered the residence and walked toward the living room area, where he was confronted by a woman who was very confrontational, the complaint stated. The woman denied anything had happened and claimed there was no man in the home and her juvenile daughter was fine. The girl then approached the officer, who reported there was a very obvious fresh red welt with a raised white area in the middle on her upper left arm.
The woman continued to be uncooperative. Officers learned McCormack was associated with the residence, that he was a registered sex offender and had a condition prohibiting contact with minor females. Soon after this information was given out to officers, McCormack was observed climbing out a second-story window.
McCormack was arrested and in a formal statement to officers, he admitted to interacting with the girl while having a belt in his hands like he was going to whip her with it. McCormack slapped the belt at least two times in the living room against the door causing a loud sound. The girl at one point ran away from him and hid behind a washing machine as the defendant pursued her with the belt. McCormack stated he knew she was scared by his actions, but he did not admit to hitting her with the belt.
McCormack's next court hearing in this case is a violation hearing scheduled March 4.
