Milton Thomas - Repeat Sex Offender - Failed to Register and STRUCK AGAIN

A Level 3 sex offender who failed to notify police that he was living in Red wing is accused of sexually assaulting a local woman.

Milton Thomas, 40, was charged earlier this month with third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

State law requires registered sex offenders to file their address with authorities upon moving to a new community. Police say Thomas, who is no longer required to report to a probation officer, did not meet that requirement.

"He did not register with us, or we would have had a communitywide notification meeting," said Craig Lunde, Red Wing police investigative sergeant.

Thomas has been in and out of prison since the mid-1990s for sexually related convictions and for not following conditions of his release. He also has a history of failing to register as a sex offender.

He was released from Minnesota Correctional Facility-Lino Lakes in July 2007. He is no longer under the supervision of the Department of Corrections because he has served all of his sentences.

"That's very rare, but it happens," said Shari Burt, DOC communications director.

Thomas is accused of forcing a 46-year-old Red Wing woman to have sex with him while the young girl she was baby-sitting slept just a few feet away, according to the criminal complaint filed in Goodhue County First District Court.

The woman, who told authorities she has Parkinson's disease, was baby-sitting in the apartment complex Thomas occasionally stays at with his girlfriend, the complaint states.

Thomas allegedly came into the apartment around 1:30 a.m. while the woman was sleeping on the couch. According to the complaint, he pulled her pants down and forced her to have sex with him.

The woman said she knew Thomas had been released from Lino Lakes and that he was a sex offender.

Thomas allegedly told authorities during an interview that raping an older woman was not his usual method — that he has sex with teenagers instead, according to the complaint.

He has a history of sexual contact with juvenile victims ages 13 and 14, according to information from the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

If convicted, Thomas faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and a $30,000 fine. He is scheduled to appear in court at 9 a.m. Sept. 19 for an omnibus hearing.

Thomas is currently being held in Goodhue County jail on a $300,000 bond.

"25% of all sex offenders re-offend within 15 years"

.........Sarah Tofte