A 20-year-old western Minnesota man who admitted to choking and sexually assaulting his girlfriend in her St. Catherine University dorm room was given a 7½-year prison term Monday. Keanu Avery Labatte, of Granite Falls, was sentenced in Ramsey County District Court after pleading guilty in July to an amended charge of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in connection with the September 2023 assault at the St. Paul university. Keanu Avery Labatte (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office) Judge Kellie Charles gave Labatte the maximum allowed under a plea deal he reached with the prosecution. The prosecution also agreed to dismiss four other charges: two counts of first-degree sexual conduct and one count each of domestic assault by strangulation and threats of violence. Prosecutors asked for the full term, while Labatte’s attorney, Thomas Beito, sought a probationary sentence, citing his age, remorse and that he had not previously been convicted of a felony. When Labatte learned the victim had been talking with other men, he was “overwhelmed with a feeling of betrayal and allowed his impulses to take control,” Beito wrote last week in a motion for a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines. “Keanu admits that he was too impulsive and expresses deep remorse for his actions. … Keanu does not offer any of this as an excuse for his actions, he accepts complete responsibility for the pain and trauma he inflicted upon the victim.” State law requires Labatte to register as a predatory offender for the remainder of his life. ‘I plead the 5th’ According to the criminal complaint, the woman reported to campus security at 10:50 a.m. Sept. 10, 2023, that she had been physically and sexually assaulted multiple times throughout three days in her room by Labatte, her boyfriend of two months. She said he was still in her room. She told police Labatte arrived on campus Thursday night to visit her over the weekend and became “enraged” and “infuriated” after discovering text messages, pictures and social media information. She said he grabbed her phone and kept it away from her. She said Labatte went from giving her hickies, which was consensual, to forcefully removing her clothing and sexually assaulting her after she told him she did not want to have sex. At one point, she told police, Labatte put both of his hands around her neck and that it made her feel lightheaded and believe she was going to die. That Saturday, she told police, Labatte forced her to lie down in the bathtub, where he covered her mouth with a washcloth and engaged in “waterboarding” by pouring buckets of water over her. He also allegedly threatened her with a knife. Related Articles Crime & Public Safety | Man arrested by Oak Park Heights police found with possible explosive devices Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul murder charges: Argument over money between men, 64 and 70, led to fight and stabbing Crime & Public Safety | CenturyLink wire theft leaves more than 600 St. Paul customers without land line access for days Crime & Public Safety | Ex-officer found guilty in the 2020 shooting death of Andre Hill Crime & Public Safety | Man shot by St. Paul officers now charged with three counts of murder after woman dies from injuries She told police that Labatte let her leave the dorm room on Sunday morning after she convinced him she would get food from the cafeteria. Before she left, she said, Labatte gave her cellphone back to her and demanded that she take a picture showing that she made it to the cafeteria so he could keep track of her. While she was speaking with police, Labatte called the woman repeatedly. She said Labatte was paranoid that she was away from her room. Police noted that she had black, blue and red marks on her neck, the complaint said, and Labatte was arrested. After being read his legal rights, Labatte said, “I plead the 5th.” The woman went to a hospital for a sexual assault exam and said she was in pain from Labatte punching her in the stomach, throat and face. A nurse examiner noted bruising on her cheek, neck and ear, which the woman said was from Labatte biting her, according to the complaint.