Man Caught on Surveillance Fondling 13 y/o Child in Oakdale Fleet Farm now Charged

See more articles like this warning you of released sex offenders in our area: http://wcwatchdog.com/local-sex-offender-articles/

He's now convicted. See:
Fleet Farm Fondler Convicted of Groping 13 y/o. In Rare Occurrence, No Plea Deal but Sentence Still Weak

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Jesse Garrett Erdman of St. Paul was charged with 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct -Victim under 16 for "allegedly" touching all the private parts you can think of on a 13 year old female in the Oakdale Fleet Farm in Washington County in Late April 2017. He is related to the victim, but to protect the identity of the victim we have withheld what the familial relation is. 

According to the criminal complaint he was caught on video recorded surveillance allegedly stealing merchandise and fondling the child. From the report: 

"Law enforcement viewed store surveillance of the interactions between DEFENDANT ERDMAN and Victim 1, which showed: DEFENDANT ERDMAN walking through the store with his hand in the back pants pocket covering the buttocks of Victim 1; DEFENDANT ERDMAN kissing Victim 1 on the lips; DEFENDANT ERDMAN hitting Victim 1 on the buttocks multiple times over her clothing; DEFENDANT ERDMAN grabbing the genital area of Victim 1 over her clothes in a cupping and fondling manner; DEFENDANT ERDMAN's hand on the genital area of Victim 1 over her clothing;"

Date: 5/2/2017

Pic of Jesse Erdman, same DOB & city from public facebook

Jesse Garrett Erdman
DOB: 4/20/1989
Residence:
1461 Dale St NSt Paul, MN 55117
Agency: Oakdale PD
Charge: Criminal Sex Conduct-2nd Degree-Significant Relationship-Victim Under 16 yrs

Minnesota Statute: 609.343.1(g), with reference to: 609.343.2(a)

Maximum Sentence: 25 years and $35,000

Offense Level: Felony

Typically in cases like this the Washington County Attorney gives the accused child predator a plea deal. If for some reason Erdman was not offered a plea deal and he was trialed and convicted of this 2nd degree felony, based on past examples, he will likely only have a sentence of 2 years in prison, no fine, and the max allowed probation by law of only ten years and 10 years max allowed by law of sex offender registration. Yes the law says he could get 25 years; but sentencing guidelines dictate the sentence. It could say the punishment is the death penalty and he'd still only get 2 years if convicted because of sentencing guidelines.

Please check out our sex offender bill ideas and contact your legislators. Public awareness and contacting law makers is the only way to get them to change weak MN law:
http://wcwatchdog.com/local-sex-offender-articles/

We encourage you to contact your legislators to fix the law; but most important is providing help to the local victims. Many groups are out there doing great work across the State. At WCW our focus is local, sharing Washington County related stories to emphasize the reality that sex crime is too common here. But our work doesn't help the shattered victims. So we highly recommend helping local victims through a local group called EmpowerSurvivors. They are a peer led 501(c3) non-profit group for those affected by sexual abuse. One of the many ways they help is by holding free weekly meetings in Stillwater as a safe place. They

also host free and private online support on their website and blog. The founder, Elizabeth Sullivan, is a survivor of child sexual abuse and has devoted her life to helping victims here in the Washington County area. Every cent donated goes to their mission of "survivors helping survivors." Their new location in downtown Stillwater could use office supplies such as a printer, pens, paper and more.  Of course any donation amount helps. You can also use Paypal for a one time gift.

While the public can find hope and security if laws and sentencing guidelines can improve; the victims of sex crime in Washington County are left shattered by the crime even if the offender is punished to the fullest extent of the law. Contact elected officials; but also consider the important step of supporting victims. Please consider donating to EmpowerSurvivors here in Washington County. Find out more at www.EmpowerSurvivors.net 

*In no way do we wish harm to the convicted sex offenders outside the judgement of the law. Posting each criminal's data allows the public to decide from the evidence if they appreciate knowing such data. Such as what these sex offender's last known address is. No representation is made that the individuals listed here are currently on the state's offenders registry. All names presented here were gathered at a past date. Some persons listed might no longer be registered offenders and others might have been added. Some addresses or other data might no longer be current. Owners of Washington County Watchdog assume no responsibility (and expressly disclaim responsibility) for updating this site to keep information current or to ensure the accuracy or completeness of any posted information. All data was only accurate at the time of posting per Government sources provided. Accordingly, you should confirm the accuracy and completeness of all posted information before making any decision related to any data presented on this site. The information on this web site is made available solely to protect the public. Anyone who uses this information to commit a crime or to harass an offender or his or her family is subject to criminal prosecution and civil liability. Message us if you can verify us of an address or change in data.  Washington County Watchdog is not responsible for the accuracy of the content shared, refer to our linked government sources.