Burnsville Man Charged with Sexually Assaulting Co-Worker

A Burnsville man has been charged with criminal sexual conduct after police say he sexually assaulted a co-worker.

Cesar Gutierrez Hernandez, 36, is charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim who is mentally impaired, mentally incapacitated or physically helpless, because the victim told police she was asleep at the time. The charge is a felony with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine.

Hernandez remains in the Dakota County Jail on a $50,000 bond. An omnibus hearing in his case is scheduled May 15 in Dakota County District Court in Hastings.

He is also being held on an outstanding Hennepin County warrant and on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold.

According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a home on Harriet Avenue in Burnsville on April 15 on a report of a sexual assault.

The victim told police that she was assaulted by Hernandez, with whom she works at a Burnsville restaurant.

The woman said that on the evening of April 14, she and a group of her friends, including Hernandez, went out for drinks after work. She said she returned home about 2:30 a.m. with a friend and Hernandez, who fell asleep on her couch.

After her friend left, the woman said, she told Hernandez that her boyfriend would give him a ride hom in the morning. She said she and her boyfriend considered Hernandez a friend and that in times past he had stayed overnight on her couch after a night of drinking.

The woman said she went into her bedroom, where her boyfriend and her daughter were sleeping, closed the door and went to sleep. She said she was awakened later by someone performing oral sex on her; she said she was asleep when the assault began, and she initially thought it was her boyfriend until the person began doing things her boyfriend didn’t do, including biting her.

When the woman looked down and saw Hernandez, she kicked him in the chest and told him to get away from her, according to the complaint. Hernandez got up and left the bedroom, telling her not to get mad, the complaint says.

The woman told officers that she kicked Hernandez out of the house before calling police.

Police found Hernandez at his home and arrested him. He admitted that after the victim’s boyfriend left the apartment, he went into her bedroom, removed the blankets from the bed and performed oral sex on her, according to the complaint.

Hernandez told police that the victim “liked what was going on,” the complaint says.