Rochester man sentenced to 16 years in prison, with conditional release after 10, for alleged rape of multiple children
Quentin Terrell Townsell / Olmsted County Adult Detention Center
(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: Quentin Terrell Townsell, 34, was sentenced to 200 months, or about 16.6 years in the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud for the alleged rape of three 8, 10, and 11-year-old girls.
According to Minnesota Court Records, Townsell will receive credit for 138 days spent in Olmsted County jail, and may be eligible for conditional release after 10 years.
According to court documents, Townsell’s sentence was longer than the usual sentence of 144 months, or 12 years, for a 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction, because of the number of alleged victims.
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Townsell pleaded to one count of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct in early March.
He entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant maintains that they are innocent, but admits that the court has sufficient evidence to prove them guilty.
Court records indicate that the law enforcement obtained DNA evidence linking Townsell to the sexual assault of one of the children.
(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester man entered a guilty plea for one count of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct Thursday after being accused two years ago of raping three children, ages 8, 10, and 11.
Quentin Terrell Townsell, 34, was accused of three counts of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct, including penetration, with the 8, 10, and 11-year-old girls following his arrest in March of 2021.
According to his plea agreement, entered today, Townsell pleaded guilty to one count in exchange for an executed sentence of 200 months, or about 16.7 years.
Townsell entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant maintains that they are innocent, but admits that the court has sufficient evidence to prove them guilty.
Court records indicate that the law enforcement obtained DNA evidence linking Townsell to the sexual assault of one of the children.
Townsell was re-arrested in 2022 and accused of 3rd-degree criminal sexual conduct against an adult woman, as well as making threats toward a former girlfriend.
Those charges were dismissed in February of 2023. The state of Minnesota cited insufficient evidence to pursue a conviction.
According to court documents, the state of Minnesota had sought an aggravated, or longer sentence for Townsell based on accusations that he sexually abused the children and an adult woman multiple times.
According to his plea agreement, the sentence of 200 months fulfills the state’s motion for an aggravated sentence.
Townsell’s sentencing has not been scheduled. He remains in the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center on $100,000 bail without conditions, or $50,000 bail with conditions.