(Fairmont, MN) – A man who was convicted in the  2017 beating of his high school football teammate last year is now accused of rape.

Wyatt Eugue Tungland, 20, of Frost, was charged in Martin County Court with felony criminal sexual conduct in the first degree.

According to a criminal complaint filed earlier this month, a woman reported to police on July 5 that she had been raped and choked by Tungland.  The woman said she believed Tungland was going to kill her.

The woman told police she had known Tungland for about two years and had seen him at a party the previous evening.  She said Tungland drove her home at about 5 a.m. and she invited him inside because she thought they were friends.

According to the woman, she began screaming when Tungland pushed her on the bed and spread her legs, but he covered her mouth and choked her, and raped her.  She said the assault lasted about ten minutes.

Partygoers recalled seeing the woman and Tungland at the party, and commented to police that Tungland had been hitting on the woman.  Witnesses said the two were seen walking off together at around 4:15 a.m.

The woman told investigators Tungland had been flirting with her, but she had told him nothing was going to happen between them.  The complaint says the woman told Tungland at her apartment that he could not spend the night and she expected him to leave.

Tungland appeared at a remote court hearing July 13 on the charges, where he was ordered not to leave the state without court approval.  An omnibus hearing has been scheduled for September 14.

More about: