Church janitor who sexually assaulted babysitter sentenced to jail

A church janitor who sexually assaulted his teenage babysitter has been sentenced to jail time.

Matthew Ryan Estes, 35, of Albert Lea, was sentenced June 30 on two counts of felony 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct.  A third count of the same was dropped as part of a plea deal.

Estes will serve one year in the Freeborn County Jail with credit for six days already served.  A four-year prison sentence was stayed for 15 years.  Estes will remain on probation supervised by the Minnesota Department of Corrections for 5 to 15 years.  He has also been ordered to undergo a complete psychosexual evaluation and is not allowed contact with the victim and her family.  Estes must also have no contact with minors, except for supervised contact with his children or relatives.

Court documents say the 13-year-old victim met Estes at the church where her mother worked.  The girl offered to babysit for Estes and his wife, who was pregnant.    Investigators say Estes sexually assaulted the victim more than 100 times over the course of two years.