SW Minneapolis Man Charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct

A Southwest Minneapolis man has been charged with rape after police say he forced a woman to have sex earlier this month.

Quentin Paul Christenson, 49, is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint and a search warrant, compiled by Minneapolis Police Sgt. Brian Carlson, police were called to a home in the 1600 block of 61st Street West on April 8 and spoke to the victim, who said Christenson had forced himself on her.

The woman said Christenson suggested that they have sex, telling her, “I really want you right now.” As Christenson tried to unzip her pants and put his hand beneath her shirt, the woman said, she pushed him away and grabbed her cell phone to call her parents.

Christenson followed the woman and “fondled” her while she was on the phone with her mother, she said. She said she asked her mother to call the police, thinking that would deter Christenson’s aggressiveness.

When she hung up, she told Christenson that she needed to leave the house, but he picked her up and began removing her clothes, she told police.

The woman said she continued to talk to Christenson, trying to “talk him out of” having sex with her, but he overpowered her, dragged her down a hallway into a bedroom and threw her face down onto a bed, where he held her down and raped her.

Police arrested Christenson and interviewed him on April 9. He told police that the woman was “playing hard to get” because “it’s just her nature,” according to Carlson’s account. When police asked him why he continued to try to have sex with the woman after she repeatedly said she didn’t want to, he replied, “Because I love her and I hadn’t seen her for a few days,” according to the search warrant affidavit.

When police asked Christenson if he thought what he did was a mistake, he replied, “It sure looks that way, there’s no doubt about it,” according to Carlson’s search warrant affidavit.

Police sought a search warrant to obtain a blood or saliva sample from Christenson to make a DNA comparison.

Christenson is free on a $40,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled May 8 in Hennepin County District Court.

Until convicted, all persons listed by police as suspected of committing a crime or charged with a crime by county, state, or federal prosecutors should be considered innocent.

Want to stay on top of crime stories? Sign up for our free morning newsletter, or follow us on Facebook and on Twitter!