Vadnais Heights sexual predator gets 90 days, probation

Updated: December 21, 2009 - 7:58 PM

The Vadnais Heights man met a boy, 13, in a chat room and later had sex with him. The boy's sister caught the man.

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The victim's sister sat in the front row of a St. Paul courtroom Monday as Yury Tarshis, the man who manipulated her 13-year-old brother into having sex after they met in an Internet chat room, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and up to 15 years on probation.

Tarshis, 27, of Vadnais Heights, pleaded guilty Nov. 6 to third-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the August incident.

According to the criminal complaint, Tarshis met the boy on the Internet and sent nude photos of himself to the boy. In August, he went to the boy's home in St. Paul. When the boy's older sister came home, she found Tarshis and the boy naked in the boy's bedroom, the complaint said. Tarshis tried to flee, but the sister held him there until police arrived.

Prosecutor Eric Leonard called the sister's action heroic. Ramsey County District Judge Michael DeCourcy stayed a three-year prison sentence, ordered Tarshis to serve up to 15 years on probation and imposed several conditions.

Tarshis must attend sex offender treatment, have no contact with the victim or his family, register as a predatory offender for 10 years, have no contact with minor children, not possess, own or view pornographic materials, and not own any Internet-capable devices such as a computer or cell phone without approval of the probation department. He also must abstain from alcohol and drugs and be subject to random testing and submit a DNA sample.

Tarshis was given credit for three days he spent in custody. The judge declined a request from defense attorney Kevin DeVore to allow Tarshis to turn himself in after the holidays.

"I made a big mistake and I know it and will have to deal with it," Tarshis said. "I know it will never happen again."

PAT PHEIFER