Winona man's conviction reversed by appeals court

Newell, a registered Level 3 predatory sexual offender at the time of the crime with a history of convictions for peeping and burglary, was accused of entering a woman’s residence on Wilson Street in Winona in April 2013 and forcing her to perform sexual acts while threatening that he had a knife.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that previous convictions introduced as evidence at trial were not admissible. “Because the conduct in these prior offenses was dissimilar to the conduct of the charged offense, the district court should not have admitted them into evidence as either identity or common-scheme-or-plan exceptions to the rule against admitting evidence of other crimes,” the appeals court ruling stated.

According to the appellate court, over Newell’s attorney’s objection at trial, the district court admitted evidence of four of Newell’s prior convictions for interference-with-privacy with the intent of establishing a pattern of reckless voyeurism and aiding the jury in identifying Newell as the offender.

According to the court, three of the prior offenses did not involve intrusion into a victim’s home, while the 2013 crime involved a home invasion.

Only one of the other offenses involved a burglary. In that incident Newell reached through an open window and touched the sleeping woman’s leg. That happened seven years prior to the 2013 crime and it otherwise also involved no home invasion.

The court also noted only a passing similarity between the 2013 crime and Newell’s previous offenses. In those cases he hadn’t threatened with a weapon, attempted to cover the victim’s face or prevented the victim from seeing. He didn’t remove covering or the victim’s clothing, fondle the victim sexually or order the victim to touch herself sexually.

Based on those findings, the court moved to reverse the convictions and remand the case to the district court for a new trial.

According to the original complaint, at about 4:50 a.m. April 25, 2013, a woman awoke to find a man she didn’t recognize crouching at the foot of her bed. The man said he had a knife, ordered the woman to roll onto her back. He covered her face with a pillowcase as he removed her pants, according to court records. He touched her and forced her to perform a sexual act, then left the room, taking her purse and cellphone with him, according to court documents.

The woman, fearing he would return, contacted someone through Facebook, who called police about 20 minutes after the assault. Investigators took photos and a cast of footprints in the muddy ground a few feet from the woman’s window, which matched the tread of a boot found at Newell’s residence, according to the complaint.

They also swabbed a fan switch for DNA. A forensic analysis did not exclude Newell’s DNA as being a source of DNA found on the switch, according to the complaint. Newell also fit the physical description provided by the woman.

Newell has a history of exposing himself in public places to adolescent and adult women and peeking in windows at women, sometimes while masturbating. In one incident, he reached through a window to grab the leg of a sleeping woman. In that case, he also didn’t know the woman involved.

His criminal history dates to 2003, and includes convictions for burglary, assault, indecent exposure and interference with privacy.

The appellate court’s opinion was delivered Tuesday. No new court dates have been set.