A 24-year-old St. Paul man was sentenced Friday to six months of electronic home monitoring and five years of probation for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in St. Paul in 2021. Marcus Alexander Steichen pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct in September under an agreement with prosecutors that included a stayed prison sentence. In granting a downward departure from state sentencing guidelines, Ramsey County District Judge Joy Bartscher on Friday cited Steichen’s developmental disability. Marcus Alexander Steichen (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office) “I do believe that the defendant can be successful on probation,” Assistant Ramsey County Attorney Erin Gustafson said, adding that his mother is his legal guardian. Gustafson sought a 120-day jail sentence, saying, “It still was a very serious offense and it affected the victim.” Defense attorney Kevin Green said Steichen previously was found incompetent to handle his own affairs. “My client is about 12 or 13 in the body of a 24-year-old,” he said. “That’s just the way it is.” Green said the victim is also “developmentally challenged” and that she and Steichen met through friends. “The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office has been really great at dealing with this case. They really have,” Green said. “It’s just tough.” According to the criminal complaint: The girl told police in October 2021 that she met Steichen in April or May when she started hanging out with a group of kids at an East Side park. She said Steichen gave her alcohol and had sexual contact with her multiple times at various locations, including her parent’s house. On her first encounter with Steichen, the two had been drinking together. While walking her home, he took her into an alley and had her sit on his lap. He began saying sexual things to her and molested her. She told police she was scared and did not say anything, according to the criminal charges. After that, he sneaked into her parents’ house on several occasions and had sex with her, the complaint states. Guardian sought jail Gustafson said the girl’s guardian was OK with a probationary sentence but did want him to serve a jail sentence. Judge Bartscher said she found the crime to be less serious than a typical first-degree criminal sexual conduct case. “Typically, we see situations where it’s a parent or family member perpetrating against other family members and they are violent offenses,” she said. “And, I think, unfortunately, our society has yet to figure out a way to address sexual needs for people that are developmentally disabled. I don’t know the answer to that.” She said Steichen should face a consequence, ordering that he be booked into the county jail and released the same day to serve the sentence under the county’s community alternatives program. “The reason I’m doing that is because I want to have an impact on him so that he realizes that if he breaks the law in the future, he could be going to exactly like this kind of situation,” the judge said. Related Articles Crime & Public Safety | St. Paul bar customer was watched before robbery and shooting, charges say Crime & Public Safety | Former Eagan pastor gets jail time for fondling college-aged parishioner Crime & Public Safety | Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ third bid to be released on bail won’t be decided until next week Crime & Public Safety | Man killed in St. Paul daytime shooting in vehicle as 2 young kids were in backseat Crime & Public Safety | Feds get third guilty plea in smuggling ring that mailed fentanyl in stuffed animals