Man who fled sentencing for Austin child sex abuse given probation
Chad Bruce Sabanish / Mower County Jail Roster
(ABC 6 News) – Chad Bruce Sabanish received a Mower County sentence of 15 years’ probation after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a child from 2010 to 2015.
Sabanish failed to appear for his sentencing in February of 2023, and did not appear in Mower County Court until he was arrested on a warrant and booked into Mower County Jail on April 25, to be held without bond until sentencing.
According to Minnesota court transcripts from Sabanish’s 2022 plea hearing, which were later filed publicly. Judge Kevin Siefkin warned Sabanish that Mower County Court was not necessarily bound by the conditions of the plea agreement, but that if Sabanish was sentenced more harshly than agreed-upon, he could withdraw his plea and go to trial.
Siefkin elected not to sentence Sabanish harshly on Thursday, May 4, and instead granted him a downward dispositional sentence of 15 years’ probation, along with a $1,000 fine or 100 hours of community service.
According to Minnesota court records, Sabanish was originally arrested and charged with 5 counts of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly raping the child multiple times in both Austin, MN and his home in Decorah, Iowa.
According to Iowa court records, Sabanish was also charged with 2nd-degree sexual abuse by Winneshiek County Court in 2019.
The charge was dismissed by the court in 2020.
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Sabanish, 49, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an Austin child from ages 6 to 10.
Sabanish, who now lists a Rochester address, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of 2nd-degree criminal sexual conduct in July of 2022, in exchange for probation, and a promise that he would not serve additional jail time.
According to Minnesota court records, if Sabanish violates the terms of his probation, he could be re-sentenced to up to 109 months in prison.
His conditions of release include registering as a predatory offender, attending a sex offender program, and avoiding contact with people under 18 and vulnerable adults.