A 21-year-old Minnesota man has been charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct following a brutal assault on a woman in Vadnais Heights on Tuesday evening, according to court documents filed in Ramsey County.
Deputies from the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office were called to the 1000 block of Pond View Court around 7:56 p.m., where they found a 51-year-old woman with visible injuries, including facial cuts and bruising on her throat. The woman also had leaves in her hair and told officers it hurt “too much to sit down.”
According to the criminal complaint, the victim said she was walking along Centerville Road near Langer’s Tree Service while talking to a friend through her headphones when a man, later identified as Tristen Alan Leritz, approached her from behind. Leritz allegedly covered her mouth, claiming he had “tripped and fallen” into her before forcing her to the ground.
The woman’s phone and headphones fell into the grass during the attack. She screamed for help and told her friend to call 911 while struggling against Leritz. Court records state that he pinched her nose, covered her mouth, and used his forearm to press on her neck. “She believed that she was going to die,” the complaint said.
Leritz then sexually assaulted the woman for between 15 and 30 minutes, during which she said she struggled to breathe. When the assault ended, she managed to break free and run into the street. Leritz reportedly followed her and said, “I have to leave this way too,” before walking away.
Deputies recovered the woman’s shoes, glasses, headphones, and Leritz’s glasses at the scene. His missing glasses later alerted his family, who notified authorities. The woman was taken to a hospital, where a nurse documented multiple cuts and bruises and collected DNA evidence. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) matched the DNA to Leritz in less than 24 hours.
“This ended up being a team of five people that had to work on this, pretty much full-time, to be able to get to this result in less than 24 hours,” said BCA Superintendent Drew Evans.
During an interview with investigators, Leritz admitted to the assault, saying he saw the woman walking and decided to attack her, reportedly telling officers, “F*** it, since I’m a virgin.” He later confessed, saying he “fully raped her,” according to court records.
“You can’t find a case that rattles the community more than a criminal sexual conduct with a stranger,” said Ramsey County undersheriff Jeff Ramacher.
Ramsey County Attorney John Choi called the incident “an utterly senseless attack that shocked an entire community.” Leritz, who is 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 248 pounds, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday morning.