A 20-year-old man agreed to plead guilty Friday after being charged with holding his girlfriend captive in her St. Catherine University dorm room for four days while he raped, beat and waterboarded her until she escaped.
Keanu A. Labatte, of Granite Falls, Minn., said in Ramsey County District Court that he intends to admit to second-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the attack in early September.
The plea deal between the defense and the prosecution calls for Labatte to be sentenced to a term no longer than 7½ years. He remains free on an $80,000 bond ahead of sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 4.
A spokesman for the County Attorney’s Office said prosecutors will ask for Labatte to receive the full 7½-year term.
The woman went to security at the Catholic women’s university in St. Paul to report the abuse she endured from Labatte, who had become enraged by texts, photos and social media content that he discovered upon his arrival on Sept. 7. Security immediately alerted police.
She told police that Labatte squeezed his hands around her neck until she “felt lightheaded and saw stars” and raped her.
On Sept. 9, he forced her into the bathtub and “engaged in waterboarding by covering her mouth with a wet washcloth,” the charges said. He also brandished a knife and threatened to kill her.
