BURCHINAL – Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s deputies arrested 52 year old Mitchel Willette at 11901 2 Street in Burchinal shortly after 10:30am Saturday morning.
Willette was booked into the Cerro Gordo County jail on a Minnesota warrant for failure to register as a sex offender-predatory offender. The county sheriff’s inmate population report lists Willette as being held with “no bond / body only” to be extradited to Minnesota.
Court records show he was charged in 1995 with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the 2nd degree in Mower County, Minnesota. In 1997 he was found guilty of one of the charges, 609.343.1A criminal sexual conduct in the 2nd degree.
Minnesota statute 609.343.1A states; “A person who engages in sexual contact with another person is guilty of criminal sexual conduct in the second degree if any of the following circumstances exists: (a) the complainant is under 13 years of age and the actor is more than 36 months older than the complainant. Neither mistake as to the complainant’s age nor consent to the act by the complainant is a defense. In a prosecution under this clause, the state is not required to prove that the sexual contact was coerced.”
Willette was sentenced to 30 months in Minnesota State Prison for the sex offense against the child.
In 2007 Willette was convicted while living in Albert Lea, Minnesota of a felony count of 243.166.5(a) knowingly violating registration requirement or intentionally provides false information-predatory offender. Willette was sentenced to 22 months in Minnesota state prison for that offense.
Mitchel Willette is not listed on the Iowa Sex Offender Registry although the police incident report lists Iowa as his residence. Willette may also face an additional charge for violating Iowa’s sex offender laws.
