Sleepy Eye man accused of sexual assault at gravel pit

(New Ulm, MN) – A Sleepy Eye man is accused of sexually assaulting a female acquaintance.

Andrick Giovanni Sanchez, 20, was charged with five felony counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, three counts of felony criminal sexual conduct in the second degree, and one count of felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim and Sanchez met through mutual friends.  On July 18, the two were supposed to meet up with the female’s friends, but Sanchez never arrived, according to the complaint.

The victim told police Sanchez sent her a Snapchat as she was driving home, asking her to pick him up from a party just outside New Ulm.  When she arrived at the party, Sanchez asked her to drive to the airport outside of Sleepy Eye, according to the complaint.  The victim said Sanchez instead gave her directions to a gravel pit south of Sleepy Eye, saying his friends would be arriving soon.

The victim said Sanchez made small talk with her for a few minutes before he started to kiss her.  When she told him to stop and said she needed to get home, Sanchez choked her and pushed her against the driver’s seat, according to the complaint.

The victim said Sanchez groped her inside her bra, unzipped his pants, and forced her to perform oral sex on him.  She told investigators he also molested her during the assault.

The female told police she had thought about biting Sanchez in the genitals, but was afraid of him and not familiar with her surroundings.

Police executed a search warrant at Sanchez’s Sleepy Eye home, where they found the clothing he had apparently worn the night of the assault in the dryer.  Police noted that these were the only clothing items in the dryer at the time.

A witness showed police a conversation he had had with Sanchez on Snapchat.  Sanchez indicated in a message he was sorry for what he did and wished it had never happened, according to the complaint.  Court documents say he asked the witness not to report the assault to law enforcement.

The victim’s mother told police her daughter was hesitant to report the assault to law enforcement because Sanchez was a recent law enforcement graduate.

Sanchez’s initial court appearance is scheduled for August 4 in Brown County.