A onetime Metro Mobility driver charged with twice sexually assaulting a developmentally disabled rider has struck a plea deal with prosecutors that will keep him out of prison.
Segundo D. Aucapina, 45, of Minneapolis, and the Hennepin County attorney's office agreed last week to a term of 364 days in the county workhouse and a stayed prison sentence hanging over his head should he violate any requirements while on probation for five years. Aucapina will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The deal calls for Aucapina to plead guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, with a third-degree charge being dismissed. A sentencing hearing, where the judge will rule on the agreement, is scheduled for Sept. 12.
Defense attorney Eva Rodelius said that she and her client "believe that [the plea agreement] is an appropriate way to address the behavior alleged."
Prosecutors alleged that Aucapina sexually assaulted the 23-year-old passenger in the Metro Mobility vehicle after picking up her up at a group home in Maple Grove. He used an umbrella to shield the crime from the otherwise-empty vehicle's onboard surveillance cameras, the charging document read.
The woman has the delayed age development of a 12- to 14-year-old.
Metro Mobility, operated by the Metropolitan Council, provided nearly 2 million door-to-door rides last year in the Twin Cities area to people with disabilities and elderly people. The council contracts out the service in the western portion of the metro area to privately operated Transit Team Inc. of Minneapolis.
Aucapina started driving for Transit Team seven months before he was charged, having passed a criminal-background check, said a Transit Team executive. He was fired when the assault allegations were made.
