Rochester man to stand trial on sexual assault charges from Jan. 2021

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man is scheduled to stand trial in October on charges of sexually assaulting an intoxicated woman in January of 2021.

Gerald Morocco Thompson Sr., 43, faces a charge each of 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct–victim mentally impaired/helpless; 4th-degree criminal sexual conduct–victim mentally impaired/helpless; and 5th-degree criminal sexual conduct–nonconsensual sexual contact.

According to court documents, Thompson Sr. was accused of approaching a woman after she went into a bedroom, locking the door, and sexually assaulting her.

Thompson Sr.’s pretrial hearing is scheduled for Oct. 13, with a jury trial scheduled to begin Oct. 23.

Thompson Sr. appeared in Olmsted County Court Monday, Sept. 25, for a motion hearing after his defense filed several motions including the following: attempting to prevent the state from referring to the alleged victim as an alleged victim or from calling Thompson Sr. a suspect/defendant; stopping the state from referring to the alleged victim as having been mentally impaired or helpless despite her alleged intoxication; blocking as Snapchat data including messages about The State vs. Khalil, a MN Supreme Court case concerning the definition of mental incapacitation in criminal sexual conduct cases involving alcohol, from evidence.

Thompson Sr. was convicted of 3rd-degree assault in Olmsted County in 2017 — taking an Alford plea — and was released from probation in July of 2022, according to Minnesota Court Records Online.