Authorities discovered a "sex room" in a southeastern Minnesota home and have charged a husband and wife with numerous criminal sexual conduct charges that include allegations of assaulting a girl for many months starting when she was 15.
Michael Lowell Germain, 43, and Heather Laverne Germain, 49, of Goodhue, appeared Monday in Goodhue County District Court, were booked into jail and then released after posting bond.
The Germains set up the room in the attic of their home's detached garage, where they kept sex toys, whips, chains and other bondage devices they used to have sex with a host of men and women as part of their swingers lifestyle, according to the charges.
The discovery followed the Sheriff's Office being contacted in January by a 16-year-old girl who alleged that Michael Germain had raped her at the encouragement of Heather Germain, and that the three of them engaged in sex together at one point. The girl said Michael Germain started wooing her when she was 14 and first assaulted her when she was 15.
A call to the Germains' home Tuesday morning was answered by Heather, and she declined to comment about the allegations.
Charges against Michael Germain include criminal sexual conduct counts in the first, second, third and fourth degrees as well as interference with the privacy of a minor. Charges against Heather Germain included first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct, interference with the privacy of a minor and drug possession.
On Jan. 4, law enforcement searched the upper level of the garage and found various sex devices and an 8-foot-tall wooden structure in the shape of an X that "could easily be used to anchor or tie a person."
Questioned by authorities, Michael Germain denied assaulting the girl but acknowledged that he and his wife are swingers.
A week later, investigators went through electronic and digital storage devices. They found 49 photos and one video of the girl in various degrees of nudity. One video on a hidden camera showed her having sex with a man.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
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