The Brainerd Dispatch has heard allegations of sexual assault against a woman

BRAINERD — A 31-year-old Brainerd man was arrested Thursday, Nov. 21, after allegedly sexually assaulting a woman.

Jonathan Patrick Sellner was arraigned Tuesday in Crow Wing County District Court on a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge and was appointed a public defender. His bail was set at $50,000 with conditions and $100,000 without conditions. He remained in the Crow Wing County Jail as of Tuesday afternoon and is scheduled to return to court on December 19, 2024.

Court documents show that on November 18, the woman spoke to law enforcement at the Essentia Health Urgent Care facility in Baxter. She told officers she was seeking care after suffering sexual assault on November 6.

She told officers she went to Sellner’s residence in the 1600 block of Oak Street to talk to him because she was having problems and needed to talk to someone. She said she and Sellner were in a sexual relationship.

Upon arrival at the residence, she found Sellner drinking alcohol and they eventually ended up in Sellner’s bedroom, where Sellner began kissing her, which then led to sexual intercourse.

At one point, Sellner wanted to do more, but she told him no. He did it anyway, she told officers.

She said she repeatedly told Sellner to stop, but he held her down. While trying to leave his residence, she told officers that he was standing in front of the door and would not let her out.

She testified that Sellner was wearing pants with multiple pockets during the robbery, and he told her he had a gun and ammunition in his pants when he touched the outside of his pants, where she could see what appeared to be the outline of a firearm.

Sellner also told her he had a gun in every room and mentioned some sort of trapdoor or hidden access under the mattress in the bedroom. She said she wasn’t sure if Sellner was bragging about his firearm or if he was saying it to intimidate and scare her.

She told officers he forced her to have intercourse three or four times over a two-and-a-half hour period. Only the next day she was able to leave his apartment.

Sellner was found during a traffic stop on November 21, where he was detained. Sellner gave investigators a statement in which he denied any sexual intercourse and stated that he did not possess any firearms.

Court documents show Sellner was previously convicted of domestic assault by strangulation in Cass County in 2023. He was sentenced to three years of supervised probation and fined $585.

According to court records in the case, on March 31, 2023, the fourth-grade student told his counselor and principal that his mother had been attacked by Sellner the previous evening.

The mother told law enforcement that Sellner came to her apartment and they began arguing. Sellner was accused of grabbing her by the neck and throwing her against the window.

TIM SPEIER, the author of the article, can be contacted on Twitter

@timmy2thyme

call 218-855-5859 or email

[email protected]

.

Tim Speier joined the Brainerd Dispatch in October 2021 covering public safety.