Blaine man pleads guilty to ejaculating in co-worker's coffee

A Blaine man pleaded guilty Thursday to ejaculating into a co-worker's coffee.

John R. Lind, 34, pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to indecent exposure, defined as engaging in lewd or indecent behavior.

He is scheduled to be sentenced for the misdemeanor on May 22.

"I'm glad he's getting something, because I believe he deserves some punishment," said Pat Maahs, the co-worker in the case.

"So far, my sentence is greater than his."

Lind's attorney, Mark Kelly, declined to say what type of sentence he would pursue for his client. The plea did not include an agreed-upon sentence.

"From the outset of the investigation, he's cooperated with authorities, provided them with admissions of his conduct," Kelly said.

Those charges were dismissed by Ramsey County District Judge Patrick Diamond because the law does not define contact with semen as sexual contact.

The county attorney's charges against Lind alleged that, to get Maahs to notice him, he masturbated over her coffee and at her desk multiple times when she wasn't present.

Maahs told police that she first thought that her foul-smelling coffee, an ongoing issue, was due to spoiled milk.

The two worked at Beisswenger's hardware store in New Brighton. Maahs, who continues to work there, said her employer has been supportive throughout the case.

The New Brighton city attorney's office charged Lind when the county's case was dismissed.

"I felt that there was a hole in the law, and it needed to be plugged," Maahs said, "and it was up to me to do it because no one else was going to do it for me."

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708