Just Probation for Rape of 14 Year Old Child

 In June of 2025 a Michael Lewis, DOB: 6/23/1956, was charged:

FELONY 609.322.1(a)(4) Engages in Sex Trafficking of Individual-Under 18 years old 64A Human Trafficking, Commercial Sex Acts 
FELONY 609.342.1(c)(ii) Criminal Sexual Conduct-1st Degree-Penetration Uses force, as defined in section 609.341, subd 3(2) 11A Forcible Rape 
FELONY 609.344.1a(b) Criminal Sexual Conduct - 3rd Degree - Penetration; Victim 14 - 15 Actor > 24m older 11A Forcible Rape  

According to the police report he lured the child to his home in Mahtomedi with promises of drugs. He gave the child drugs and while impaired he raped them with an accomplice Billy Ray Wiley. The child was found in a parking lot in Stillwater wandering yelling "no, no, no." 

The Washington County prosecutors dropped the charge of rape of an impaired victim under 18. A convictions that would have laned up to 15 years in prison. They also dropped the 1st degree rape. They appeared to reach a plea deal to convict the lesser charge of 3rd degree rape of a 14 year old. The prosecutors blamed the sentencing guidelines for the weak sentence of just 15 years probation. However, it's on the prosecutors for not going with 1st degree rape like prosecutors charge his accomplice of. The accomplice is serving 40 years for the rape of the child and a 20 year old. 

 This story is exactly why the child rape laws need to be stronger with better sentencing guidelines for one. The blame can be placed on the all democrat controlled legislature and Governor.  Our own Ethan Cha of Woodbury says: 

Democrat Ethan Cha Responds Saying Weak Child Rape Laws Are Fine

See some of the many cases in the last several years of those convicted of child sex crimes with weak sentences and plea deals:

Homicidal Rapist in Forest Lake Found With Child Porn Who Self Recorded Rape Now Convicted, Only 4 years  

Only 30 Days in Jail and Probation for Child Molester Who Had Sex with Lake Elmo Child 

Only a Year in Jail for Man who Gang Raped 14 Year Old Child in Woodbury

Man Who Repeatedly Raped a Child in Oakdale, Raped another Child While on Probation and Will be Out in 2 Years 

No Mandated Jail time for Convicted St Paul Park Man who Sexually Assaulted a Child  

Man Who Gang Raped Woodbury Child Only Gets 5 years Probation and 10 Months Prison 

Only 3.5 Years for Man Who Held Down & Raped Bayport Child While Taunting Her 

Just One Year in Jail for Oakdale Man Accused of Raping Under 14 Year Old

In Minnesota, left wing law makers and prosecutors believe child rapists can be "rehabilitated," do not need to be monitored, and can become good members of society. The evidence is the fact only several hundred of the over 20,000 convicted rapists in Minnesota are confined in prison. Most only do a couple years and then are released without further monitoring. More information here:

Watchdog Review of Each of the Fifty States Sex Offender Laws Finds Minnesota Ranked the Most Unsafe  

If you hope to see any law change, continue to contact law makers.

Find your legislator here: https://www.leg.state.mn.us/leg/districtfinder

See our 8 bill ideas to ask legislators to write

Tell legislators to also make the sex offender list public like 47 other states. All but MN, DC, and Maine have public lists. Maine only has 2,700 sex offenders in their state though. Compared to over 20,000 in MN. 26 states register sex offenders for life, MN lists most sex offenders to 10 years max.

*In no way do we wish harm to the convicted sex offenders outside the judgement of the law. Posting each criminal's public data anyone can get 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.     

DATE: 1/7/2026

DEFENDANT: Michael Lewis
DOB: 6/23/1956
CITY/RESIDENCE: Mahtomedi, MN
AGENCY: Washington County Sheriff's Office
JUDGE: Juanita C. Freeman
COURT NUMBER: 82-CR-25-2858
Was initially charged with: 
FELONY 609.322.1(a)(4) Engages in Sex Trafficking of Individual-Under 18 years old 64A Human Trafficking, Commercial Sex Acts 
FELONY 609.342.1(c)(ii) Criminal Sexual Conduct-1st Degree-Penetration Uses force, as defined in section 609.341, subd 3(2) 11A Forcible Rape 
FELONY 609.344.1a(b) Criminal Sexual Conduct - 3rd Degree - Penetration; Victim 14 - 15 Actor > 24m older 11A Forcible Rape Criminal Sexual Conduct - 3rd Degree - Penetration under 18 - Impaired/incapacitated/helpless
CONVICTION: Criminal Sexual Conduct - 3rd Degree - Penetration; Victim 14 - 15 Actor greater than 24m older

Interview with William Beck for Cottage Grove area HD 41B

 Here's our interview with William Beck who is running for the legislature in house district 41B that covers Cottage Grove, Denmark Township, Hastings, and Nininger Township. He's the endorsed republican candidate for this November's election.

1.) Tell us about yourself, how long have you lived in the Cottage Grove area? What line of work are you in?

 I'm a husband and father of two young kids, and they're the reason I decided to run for office. Like a lot of young families, we're thinking every day about what kind of Minnesota our kids will grow up in. After graduating from college, my wife and I bought our first home in Hastings so we could be closer to family. I'm a former teacher and now work as a lab technician. I also serve on the board of a public charter school in Woodbury and on the Heritage Preservation Commission in Hastings. Outside of work, my family spends a lot of time advocating for Minnesotans with disabilities, which is something that's very personal to us.

2.) Many would say it is refreshing to see a person new to politics enter the race. How has your real world experience going to impact the way you legislate?

This is the first time I've ever run for public office and I think that's one of the biggest strengths of our campaign. I don't have years of political baggage. I know what it's like to work a regular job, raise a family, and live within a budget.

I'm a Republican, but I'm not interested in being a rubber stamp for anyone. If I'm elected, my job is to represent the people of Cottage Grove, Denmark Township, Hastings, and Nininger Township, not party leadership. Sometimes that will mean voting with my party and sometimes it won't. My goal is to make decisions based on what's best for the people I represent.

My background in education and healthcare also gives me a unique perspective on two of the biggest parts of the state budget. Those are areas where we need to deliver great services while also making sure taxpayer dollars aren't being wasted or stolen through fraud.

3.) What are your top three issues you would like to address if you were elected?

Our campaign is built around three priorities: affordability, accountability, and academic excellence.

Minnesota has become too expensive for too many families. Whether it's property taxes, childcare, groceries, or energy costs, people feel like they're falling behind. We need to make it easier to build a life here.

We also need more accountability in state government. Minnesotans work hard for their tax dollars, and they deserve to know that money is being spent responsibly. We've seen too many examples of waste and fraud.

And finally, I want every student to have access to an excellent education. Parents should have a real voice in their children's education, teachers should have the support they need, and our schools should be focused on helping kids succeed.

3.) Being new to State level politics, who, if any, past or present, legislator is someone you admire and why? 

 I admire our two most recent State Representatives, Tom Dippel and Shane Hudella, for many of the same reasons. They're both friends of mine, and neither of them set out to make politics a lifelong career. They came to the Legislature with specific goals, got to work right away, and focused on delivering results for our community.

For Shane, that meant securing funding for the Hastings Veterans Home and working to combat the fentanyl crisis. For Tom, it has meant restoring fiscal sanity at the Capitol and securing funding to help Hastings build new water treatment facilities.

That's the kind of representative I want to be. I don't want to spend years climbing the political ladder. I want to get to work immediately and collaborate with anyone, regardless of party, to make progress on affordability, accountability, and academic excellence. I also believe our Legislature works best when it is made up of citizen legislators, not career politicians. That's why I plan to limit myself to two or three terms in the House.

4.) Minnesota has the weakest child rape laws. We wrote an article about it. Kare11 came out with a story on the weak sex offender laws in Minnesota sourcing a full study by Protect.org. “We know of no other state in the union with sentencing as weak as Minnesota’s for child sexual exploitation.” Our page has dozens of local stories about child predators walking away with weak sentences. This is a real local issue. We have 8 bill ideas. Would you consider helping to write a bill to address this issue? 

Absolutely. Protecting children should never be a partisan issue. If there are ways we can strengthen penalties for child predators, close loopholes, and better protect victims, I'd be proud to work with anyone (Republican or Democrat) to get that done. Keeping dangerous offenders off our streets should be common sense.

5.) How can people reach you and donate? 

The easiest way to learn more about my campaign, get in touch, volunteer, or donate is at BeckforHouse.com. Feel free to send me an email anytime at Beck4MN@gmail.com.