Crime & Safety
St. Catherine's University Student Raped, Beaten, Waterboarded Over 4 Days: Police
The woman's boyfriend held her captive in her dorm room for four days, during which he sexually assaulted her and beat her, police said.
ST. PAUL, MN — A St. Catherine University student was held captive for four days in her dorm room while her boyfriend raped, beat, and waterboarded her, according to police.
Keanu Labatte, 19, of Granite Falls, was charged Monday with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, domestic assault by strangulation, and threats of violence.
If convicted, Labatte faces up to 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine. He was arrested Sunday and remained at the Ramsey County Jail.
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Around 11 a.m. Sunday, a student told campus security she was physically and sexually abused throughout the weekend by her boyfriend, Labatte, who was still in her dorm room, according to authorities.
Labatte arrived on campus the evening of Sept. 7 to visit her over the weekend. While there, he discovered text messages, pictures, and social media information "which infuriated him," the criminal complaint states.
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Labatte "became enraged" and took the woman's phone and sexually assaulted in her dorm room multiple times throughout Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, authorities said. He strangled, punched, and threatened to kill her, according to investigators.
The woman told police that "she knew what he had done to a prior girlfriend, which was to hold a knife to her throat," the criminal complaint states.
Saturday was the "worst of it," when Labatte waterboarded the woman in the bathtub, according to police.
On Sunday, Labatte let the woman leave the dorm room to get food from the cafeteria as long she sent a Snapchat, so he could keep track of her and call her, the criminal complaint states.
The woman made it to the campus security office and told authorities she had been abused since Thursday, investigators said. Campus security notified the police, the criminal complaint states.
Police found Labatte in the woman's dorm room and immediately arrested, authorities said.
After being read his legal rights, Labatte said "I plead the fifth" and no further questions were asked, according to police.
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