Trial of former Burnsville scoutmaster starts on Monday

Former Burnsville scoutmaster Peter Stibal II goes on trial Monday, accused of sexual assaults on four Boy Scouts and former scouts when they were minors.

A Dakota County judge denied Stibal's request to suppress some of his statements and to get full access to alleged victims' medical and counseling records about the allegations.

Among key prosecution witnesses, court papers show, is one whom Stibal, 45, allegedly had sex with for years before the alleged victim went to police. That revelation sparked a probe that shocked the community and officials with the Boy Scouts regional organization.

On Monday morning in Hastings, attorneys are to begin picking jurors.

Stibal is charged in Dakota County District Court with molesting the scouts between 2002 and 2008. He is free on $500,000 bail.

Stibal tried to get key evidence thrown out on grounds that an officer kept questioning him after he asked whether he should have an attorney. Any statements after that point shouldn't be admitted in court, his attorney argued.

Chief Judge Edward Lynch didn't buy that argument, saying Stibal wasn't under arrest and though he asked about an attorney, he never invoked his right to have one present.

"If you want an attorney, just tell me and I won't talk to you anymore," Detective Jeff Pfaff had told Stibal. "If you want to continue talking with me, back and forth like we are, I'll talk with you."

Stibal replied: "Sure."

Lynch later ruled that Stibal posed an "ambiguous request," which Pfaff properly clarified by telling Stibal that if he wanted an attorney he should ask for one, and all questioning would cease.

Stibal's attorney, Frederic Bruno, also requested all medical and counseling records of the four key alleged victims regarding any conversations about the allegations, and also records of other alleged victims whose cases didn't lead to charges against Stibal.

The prosecutor will be allowed to use that evidence in an attempt to prove motive or intent, the judge ruled.

He was doing so, Lynch said in a court order, because some of the information requested by the defense was not relevant to the case and is private.

In the six or so years before his arrest, a few parents of Boy Scouts in Burnsville learned that Stibal had been alone with scouts at a drive-in theater, in his truck for private driving lessons, at his cabin and in his home.

All were violations of scouting's "two-deep" policy, which requires two adults to be present during scout activities. Troop 650 volunteer leaders had admonished Stibal to stop violating the policy but never reported the conduct to those higher up in the organization.

In his interview with Pfaff, Stibal acknowledged violating the policy, according to court documents. He denied committing illegal acts with minors, though he allegedly admitted having some child pornography, documents show.

Stibal had no criminal record before he was charged first with sexual assault, and recently, with six counts of possessing child pornography. Authorities say the pornography turned up when police searched his home and took computer items.