Two men thought it was just a joke - cutting off a woman's underwear as other men in the bar laughed and the bartender turned down her plea to come to her rescue, authorities allege.

Now, the two are facing years in prison if convicted.

Michael S. Puhalla, 39, and Russell J. Baumgardner, 40, are accused of holding down a woman against the bar in Sartell, Minn., and cutting off her underwear with a pocketknife and placing it on a fan in the bar.

They were charged Wednesday in Stearns County with second-degree sexual assault with a dangerous weapon and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in the incident Sunday.

Puhalla, of Sartell, and Baumgardner, of Sauk Rapids, Minn., both told authorities that they viewed the incident as a joke, according to the charges.

The complaint, filed in District Court, also said:

The woman was in the Dam Bar when she ran into Puhalla and Baumgardner, whom she considered friends. As they talked, the two men joked about what kind of underwear she was wearing.

She told them it was none of their business, and Baumgardner said he was going to cut off her underwear. She replied: "You're not man enough for that."

The two men walk over to the woman, seated at the bar, and Baumgardner pulled out a pocketknife, while Puhalla held her down on the bar by her wrists and forearms.

Baumgardner walked around her from the back, reached in her pants and cut each side of her underwear. At this time, she said, another man came up to her, poked at her chest, and said they should cut that off next. She believed the third man was referring to her bra.

She yelled for help several times and asked for the bartender to intervene, but he said, "I can't or they will make things worse for me." She said there were up to six other men in the bar at the time, and none of them came to her aid either.

During the altercation she lost her shoes. Eventually, she ran barefoot into the bathroom, attempting to hold up her pants.

The men had her shoes, and Puhalla said she could have them only in return for her underwear. Wanting to leave the bar, she gave in to his demand.

Police, when meeting with the woman, detected bruises on her arms and an abrasion in her groin area.

Puhalla, when questioned by police, said that he and Baumgardner were joking around when the topic of underwear came up. Puhalla, referring to the incident, said it was time for the woman "to take one for the team."

Baumgardner, in his statement to police, said he has participated in similar acts in the past as a joke. He said everyone in the bar was watching and laughing at the time. He said he tried to apologize to the woman, but she would not talk to him.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482