A 21-year-old Minnesota man reportedly admitted raping a 51-year-old woman on a Vadnais Heights street earlier this week, telling detectives he did so because “F*** it, since I’m a virgin.”
Tristen Alan Leritz is charged with criminal sexual conduct in the the Tuesday night attack, which took place while the victim was taking a walk, WCCO reported.
The woman told detectives that she was walking down the street using her head phones to speak with a friend when Leritz covered her mouth with his hand and “told her that he tripped and fell into her.” Then he took her to the ground, pinched her nose, covered her mouth and pressed down on her neck with his forearm.
The woman fought back and shouted for her friend to call 911. The rape lasted for 15 to 20 minutes, she said, adding that at times, she couldn’t breathe.
“She believed that she was going to die,” charges said.
When he finished his assault, the woman got up and ran into the middle of the street, with Leritz follig and telling her “I have to leave this way too.”
Deputies found the woman’s shows, headphones, and glasses — and Leritz’s glasses — at the scene.
At a hospital, staff foud multiple cuts and bruises on the woman’s body, and a DNA sample ultimately matched with Leritz.
When he was interviewed by police, he reportedly admitted that he “fully raped” the woman. He said he saw her walking and said to himself, “F*** it, since I’m a virgin.”
The charges described Leritz as 6 feet 8 inches tall and 248 pounds.
“This utterly senseless attack shocked an entire community with its brazen nature,” Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement on Friday.
Leritz was arrested at his home on Thursday after tips from the public helped identify him, KSTP reported.
Leritz is due in court on Monday and is being held on a $500,000 bond.
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[Featured image: Tristan Alan Leritz/Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office]
