Burnsville Man Charged with Criminal Sexual Conduct

A Burnsville man has been charged with criminal sexual conduct after authorities say he repeatedly touched a woman inappropriately and acted in a lewd fashion in her presence.

Jeffrey Jay Thomas, 26, is charged with fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, a gross misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail and a $3,000 fine.

According to the criminal complaint, Thomas moved into the same Burnsville apartment complex as the victim in early July.

The victim told police that Thomas seemed friendly, but made her uncomfortable by repeatedly asking her to have sex with him and touching her breasts and genital area without her consent.

On July 11, the woman said, she was sitting on Thomas’ sofa in his apartment when he put his head up her shirt and began to lick her breasts. When she told him to stop and tried to get up to leave, he pulled down her pants and touched her genital area, the complaint says.

According to the complaint, Thomas also masturbated in front of the victim.

The victim said she told a friend a few days later about what Thomas had done. The friend told a caregiver about the incident, and the caregiver contacted police, the complaint says.

Thomas subsequently told police that the sexual contact was consensual and that “he displayed his penis to [the victim] at her request,” according to the complaint.

Thomas remained in the Dakota County Jail on Thursday on a $6,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled for Aug. 8 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.