Lee Wayne Young Jr sentenced to life in prison

A Mankato man has been sentenced to life in prison for the 2021 rape and murder of a two-year-old boy. 

Lee Wayne Young Jr., 19, was sentenced Thursday in Blue Earth County Court by district court judge Gregory Anderson. 

Young was 16 years old at the time of the murder.  The two-and-a-half-year-old victim suffered numerous fatal injuries from being beaten and sexually assaulted.  

A new law passed in May abolished life imprisonment sentences without parole for minors.  Under the law, Young will be eligible for supervised release after at least 15 years in prison, which will be assessed by a Supervised Release Board.