ROCHESTER, Minn. – A 19-year-old accused of participating in an unusual assault is pleading not guilty.
William Ramon Frederick Hawkins, 19 of Rochester, is charged with first-degree burglary and fifth-degree assault. The Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office says Hawkins and three other juveniles entered a home without permission in Marion Township on May 25.
Court documents state the four went to a downstairs bedroom where Hawkins woke up a sleeping juvenile female. Hawkins then allegedly left the room and other of the juveniles with him whipped the female victim repeatedly with a belt. Investigators say the victim had welt marks on her arms and back from being struck.
The Sheriff’s Office says Hawkins and the three juveniles left the home and were pulled over and arrested on Highway 14.
Hawkins is now scheduled to stand trial on February 5, 2024.
