Winnebago man accused of sexual assaulting vulnerable adult known to him

A Winnebago man is accused of sexually assaulting a vulnerable adult known to him.

Wayne Curtis Oswald, 62, was charged last week in Faribault County Court with two counts of felony criminal sexual conduct.

According to a criminal complaint, Oswald molested the female victim at a home in Winnebago between 2018 and May 2021.  The victim reported the abuse to Winnebago Public Safety in May 2021.

The victim said she told Oswald she would tell her mother about the abuse, but Oswald allegedly threatened to give her the beating of her life and told her she would have to leave home.

The victim reported that Oswald would touch her breasts and genitals.  She also told investigators she once woke up to discover Oswald on top of her, his pants pulled down.

Court documents say the victim was placed in a group home in May 2021 due to her cognitive abilities.  Her guardian required that Oswald not be home when the victim was there, according to the complaint.  But in March 2022, Winnebago Police received a new report of sexual assault by Oswalt against the victim.  The complaint says the victim was sleeping on a couch at the Winnebago home when she awoke to find Oswald on top of her with his hands under her shirt, groping her breasts.  The victim said she shouted for her mother, who was sleeping nearby.

The victim’s mother told police several days later she had witnessed the assault.

The complaint describes the victim as bipolar and borderline mentally impaired.