A Minnesota man allegedly raped, beat and waterboarded his girlfriend while holding her hostage inside his college dorm room for three days after finding text messages on her phone that “infuriated him.”
Keanu Labatte, 19, was arrested Sunday at St. Catherine University, an all-women’s school in St. Paul, after his alleged victim escaped the harrowing abuse and alerted campus security.
Labatte arrived on campus Thursday after making a 140-mile trip from Granite Falls to visit a girl he had been dating for two months, according to a criminal complaint obtained by KSTB.
What was supposed to be a romantic weekend took a dark turn when Labatte found text messages, pictures and social media information on his phone that reportedly “infuriated him.”
The man allegedly took her phone and kept it away from her for days so she couldn’t call for help while he allegedly tortured her.
He repeatedly raped and strangled the woman until she became dizzy inside his campus dormitory while making deranged threats to kill her and her family, prosecutors allege.
Labatte is accused of forcing his girlfriend to lie in a bathtub before covering her face with a washcloth and pouring water on her so that she had difficulty breathing.
He also allegedly threatened her with a knife, telling her he had held it to the throat of a previous girlfriend who had angered him.
Keanu Labatte was arrested for holding his girlfriend captive and torturing her inside his college dorm for three days. Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office
He even raised the student’s arm in search of “the right vein to cut deep enough so that no one could save her,” the victim told authorities.
She said the torture left her “feeling terrified to the point that she would simply lie next to Labatte and not move for fear of what he would do to her,” according to court documents.
After days of horrific abuse, the student finally convinced Labatte to allow her to leave the dormitory-turned-torture chamber to go get food in the cafeteria on Sunday morning.
The victim eventually escaped after convincing Labatte to let her go to the cafeteria at St. Catherine University.LinkedIn/St. Catherine University
He agreed, on the condition that she send him a photo after arriving to prove where she was, and he returned her phone, according to court records.
Instead, he went straight to campus security, who called the police after noticing bruises around his ear, face and neck.
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Police arrested Labatte inside the bedroom, where they found a razor and a wet wipe in the bathroom.
Officers also noticed that the mattress had been moved to the floor, which the victim said Labatte had done so the bed wouldn’t squeak while he sexually assaulted her, according to the complaint.
After being read his legal rights, Labatte said, “I declare the fifth.”
The teen was already on probation for violating a restraining order another woman had issued against him, according to court records.
He has been charged with five felonies: three for criminal sexual conduct, one for domestic battery with strangulation and one for threats of violence.
Each criminal sex charge carries up to 30 years in prison, while charges of domestic assault and threats of violence carry maximums of three and five years, respectively.
A spokesperson for St. Catherine’s declined to comment on how the abuse went undetected for several days, citing the student’s right to privacy.
“It is our policy at St. Catherine University not to make any comments that may affect student confidentiality or that may re-traumatize individuals. As this is an ongoing investigation, we do not want to jeopardize the integrity of the case as it develops,” Rep. Sarah Voigt said in an email.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn