UPDATE: Burnsville Man Sentenced for First-degree Assault

Update: On June 23, Judge Michael Mayer sentenced Selge to 180 months in prison — 15 years. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to the victim, who suffered brain damage due to her injuries.

A Dakota County jury on Friday convicted Burnsville’s Brent Paul Selge, 33, of first- and third-degree assault in connection with a July 5 domestic dispute that left his estranged wife bloodied, unconscious and suffering from a brain injury. 

During her Friday testimony, the victim stated that she spent six days in intensive care after the July attack.  

According to the criminal complaint against Selge, caretakers of an Apple Valley apartment building called police after finding a blood trail leading from an interior garage to his third floor apartment.

Upon arrival police found blood pooled on the first and second floor landings as well as blood spatter on the hallway floor and walls. They also found a clump of hair and a pair of black shorts or underwear on the stairs.

According to the complaint, when officers arrived they found a naked Selge standing over a woman, who was later identified as his wife, as she lay unconscious and bleeding from the head and mouth.

The officers observed multiple bruises on the female’s body and also noticed that her skin was rubbed raw around her elbows and along her side. The officers found she had rub-type abrasions over her arms, legs, back and feet.

Prior to his arrest, Selge claimed his wife invited him over and that she had been drinking and taking Valium during the day. He claimed that while he and his wife were waiting for a taxi cab in the garage, she passed out, woke up, started to get “out of control” physically and then passed out again.

Selge said he attempted to use a plastic tote to carry his wife up the stairs to her apartment. According to his statement, after the tote broke he attempted to carry her up the stairs and she continued to fall down.

Selge also claimed that he and his wife lost all of their clothing as he carried her up the stairwell.   

The first- and third-degree charges against Selge are felonies and carry with them combined maximum penalties of 25 years imprisonment and $40,000 fine, according to the Minnesota statute on assault.

Selge has a history of arrests for domestic abuse and DWI. Just one month before the incident in question, Selge was the subject of separate case in which he faced charges of harassment, false imprisonment, threats damage to property and domestic assault. Initially, he intended to fight the charges. However, on Nov. 2, 2010 he changed course, pleading guilty to domestic assault and damage to property. As a part of the plea agreement, the other charges were dismissed.