Mankato man charged with sex crimes

A Mankato man is accused of sex crimes involving a teenage girl.

Pilee Kong Gatwach, 23, was charged last week with three felony counts of 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct in Blue Earth County Court.

A criminal complaint says Gatwach met the then-13-year-old victim on Snapchat in the fall of 2018.  The girl told investigators she a Gatwach met soon after that at his apartment, where they had intercourse. Gatwach asked the victim not to say anything to anyone after she told him she was 13, according to the complaint.

The victim ran away after her stepfather argued with Gatwach about her age. She stayed with Gatwach’s mother and Gatwach continued to sexually assault her during that time, according to the complaint.

The victim told investigators she was age 14 when she and Gatwach “started seeing each other a lot,” and Gatwach told her he wanted her to get pregnant.  The girl and Gatwach were last together in June 2021 because he was “locked up” after that, according to the complaint.

Gatwach was one of three suspects arrested in March 2021 in a campus vehicle theft at gunpoint, followed by a police chase.