Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man's trial on charges that he physically and sexually assaulted a juvenile girl was canceled this morning due to a last-minute plea agreement.

A long list of felony charges was filed against 32-year-old Eric Kelly Danielson Jr. in December 2023 after a teenage girl under the age of 16 reported being assaulted and raped. The criminal complaint in the case noted that the victim had a cut on her lip and bruises on her leg.

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Danielson also faced two felony charges in connection with an incident that occurred at a gas station in Rochester in late July 2023. In that case, he was accused of threatening another man with a knife after the victim heard a woman in the vehicle yelling for help and saying, "he's beating me." It was alleged Danielson told the victim he was going to kill him and I numerous times said he would "gut him."

The Rape Victim Said He Was a Father Figure to Her Boyfriend

In the sexual assault case, court documents say the victim identified her attacker as Danielson and described him as "a father figure to her boyfriend." She told investigators that she had gotten into an argument with her boyfriend and asked Danielson to pick her up.

The charges alleged that he drove her to a hotel in south Rochester where she smoked methamphetamine and ingested a blue pill that Danielson allegedly told her was Percocet. She also alleged that Danielson offered her the drugs after she refused more than a dozen requests from him to engage in sex.

According to the criminal complaint, the victim told police that she lost consciousness at one point, and when she came to, Danielson was moving her to the bed, where he tied her up with a drawstring and sexually assaulted her. The court document also states that the victim told police Danielson strangled her with a chain, bit her lips closed, and struck her all over her body during the sexual assault.

The Victim Alleged That Danielson Threatened too Kill Her, Her Family, and Her Boyfriend

It was also alleged that Danielson pointed a gun at the victim after the sexual assault and told her that he would kill her, her boyfriend, and her family if she reported the incident. The charges say the victim told police that Danielson also told her that he possessed a nude photo of her and he would distribute it if she reported the attack.

According to Olmsted County Court records, Danielson was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, third-degree criminal sexual conduct, second-degree assault, two counts of tampering with a witness, illegal possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a violent crime, illegal possession or use of teargas or stun gun, and receiving or possessing a firearm with an altered serial number.

Just before his trial was scheduled to begin this morning, court documents indicate Danielsen and Olmsted County prosecutors reached a plea agreement. He entered guilty pleas to the third-degree criminal sexual conduct charge and one of the weapons-related charges in the sexual assault case and admitted to a felony threats of violence charge in connection with the incident involving a knife at the gas station.

The judge in the case has ordered that he be held without bail until his sentencing hearing next month. The plea agreement document filed in Olmsted County Court calls for a five year prison sentence.

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