Albert Lea man sentenced to 13 years for rape of woman

Published 8:57 pm Wednesday, September 6, 2023

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An Albert Lea man was sentenced Wednesday in Freeborn County District Court to 13 years in prison for raping a woman in 2022.

Adam Haeska

Adam John Haeska, 34, was convicted by a jury in May of two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with one count of domestic assault-fear and domestic assault-harm on the fourth day of the trial against him. He had pleaded guilty to a charge of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance before the trial.

Court documents stated Haeska taped the victim’s wrists together during the assault and covered her mouth with his hand because she kept screaming. When police arrested him, he was reportedly found with two hypodermic needles and methamphetamine.

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Haeska’s lawyer, Scott Cody, argued Wednesday that his client has worked to better himself over the last year he was in jail and has completed various classes, cognitive behavioral therapy, recovery training and a seminar in conflict resolution, among others. He has also helped other inmates participate in the program and was even asked to lead a recovery class when the instructor was gone, Cody said.

The lawyer argued for a downward departure motion from the presumptive prison sentence and that Haeska instead be sentenced to probation with conditions. He noted the judge could sentence him to a probationary jail sentence up to one year.

Cody said Haeska’s behavior with all of the opportunities in the jail was in sharp contrast to how the psychosexual evaluation described him as a “loner.” He said Haeska actually thrived in group situations and showed he can and has benefited from the opportunities in the jail.

He argued Haeska would likely not qualify for further classes in the prison, including sex offender treatment, because of his otherwise low criminal history score.

Regarding the issue of remorse, the lawyer said from the beginning Haeska has owned up to him about what happened but has said he disagrees with some of the harsher details that came out at trial.

Assistant County Attorney Abigail Ehret asked for 187 months in prison and talked about Haeska’s prior convictions for domestic assault, including two misdemeanors and one gross misdemeanor — all against the same victim. There was also a probation violation.

She also referenced the psychosexual evaluation completed and said it stated Haeska has difficulty controlling his anger, minimized the egregiousness of his actions and denies having restrained the victim or covering her mouth.

She said he also seems to blame his behavior on drug use and said that just because someone completes some classes in the jail does not make him amenable to probation.

Ehret said the victim experienced years of extreme abuse because of Haeska’s actions and beliefs that he “owned” the victim.

Ehret played a portion of a phone call between Haeska and his mother the day the jury came back with its guilty verdicts. Haeska could be heard saying that the victim “came in there and said so many lies” and at one point even said “she’s the victim supposedly.”

Haeska, when given the opportunity to make his own statement, said he was sorry for the way he treated the woman and said the whole situation was a wakeup call for him.

He said he had found God and wanted to prove to himself, his family and the community that he was more than a drug addict and this situation.

In addition to the sentence for criminal sexual conduct, Freeborn County District Court Judge Ross Leuning also sentenced Haeska to 15 months in prison for the controlled substance crime, which will be spent concurrently with the 13-year sentence.

He will receive credit for 378 days already served in jail since his arrest and will also serve conditional release after confinement of 10 years.