The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday disbarred a Bigfork, Minn., attorney who was convicted of sexually assaulting four women clients and sentenced to 6½ years in prison.
Jesse R. Powell, 33, a former prosecutor in Itasca County, pleaded guilty in September to four counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with assaulting the women while he was their lawyer over several months in 2021 in Grand Rapids.
He remains incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Moose Lake.
Susan Humiston, the director of the Lawyers Professional Responsibility Board, confirmed in February that Powell was being investigated. She filed a petition for disciplinary actions disbarring Powell with the Minnesota Supreme Court in September. The court ruled Wednesday confirming his disbarment.
One woman retained Powell in February 2021 while going through a divorce. She accused him of nonconsensual sexual contact and sex during multiple visits to his law office, according to the petition. The same accusations were made by another woman going through a child custody battle who retained Powell that June.
Powell was first licensed to practice law in Minnesota in 2015. He was suspended in August 2022 for failing to pay lawyer registration fees. The following month, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in Itasca County District Court in December.
He was originally charged with more serious third-degree criminal sexual conduct counts that alleged that he raped some of the women. In the plea agreement, he admitted to forcibly touching the four women sexually.
The oversight board disciplined Powell for failing to cooperate in multiple investigations related to the sexual assaults. He was also found in violation of misappropriating client funds, neglecting two client matters and failing to communicate with those clients.
