GRAND MARAIS, Minn. -- The victim of a sexual assault at the hands of a Grand Marais couple bitterly denounced his assailants during their sentencing hearings in Cook County District Court on Wednesday.
The husband in the assault, Kevin Thompson, 52, of 2648 E. Highway 61, was sentenced to two years at the Northeast Regional Correctional Center and one year in local confinement by 6th Judicial District Judge Kenneth Sandvik on felony charges of kidnapping, second-degree assault, terroristic threats, false imprisonment and criminal sexual conduct. His wife, Susan Thompson, 40, was sentenced to 10 years probation on charges of criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and false imprisonment.
The sentences were in fulfillment of a plea agreement reached May 11.
The Thompsons testified during that hearing that when Kevin learned his wife was having an affair with the victim they concocted a plan to lure him into their home the night of May 15, 2009, with intent to scare him.
But they did more than that. Once the man arrived, Kevin Thompson surprised him, and the two struggled. Thompson overcame the victim, tied him up and held him for the next six to eight hours, while threatening him with a knife, a crowbar and a gun, and forcing him to have sexual contact with Susan.
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The News Tribune does not print the names of the victims of sexual assault unless they agree to comment.
The victim read his statement off a laptop computer during Susan Thompson's portion of the sentencing. Neither she nor Kevin Thompson, who was sitting in the front row, looked at the victim or reacted to what he said.
"The Thompsons are scurrilous individuals who show no shame, no remorse and no regret," the victim said. "It's time for the Thompsons to realize that the gig is up."
In sentencing the Thompsons, Sandvik said the issue wasn't their sexual choices, which he said include "multiple-party sexual activity."
"You're not here because you engaged in an alternative sexual lifestyle," Sandvik told Kevin Thompson. "You're here because you engaged in violence and threats of violence ... and they were sexual in nature."
Under terms of the probation, Susan Thompson will be confined to her home under electronic home monitoring. She won't be allowed to have guests or leave home without permission of her probation officer.
Sandvik ordered that Kevin Thompson be taken into custody immediately.
Both of the Thompsons will be required to enroll in sex offender treatment programs as part of their sentences. They also owe court costs and restitution totaling $50,000.
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The Duluth News Tribune and the Herald are Forum Communications Co. newspapers.
