Man accused of sexually assaulting minor
Jul. 6—WASECA — Charges against a Mankato man allege he sexually assaulted a minor over the course of 18 months and had talked about taking her "states away."
Grant Walter Moody, 38, was charged with two felonies for first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor Monday in Waseca County District Court.
The charges stem from a report of a missing 14-year-old girl in Waseca County on June 20, according to a criminal complaint.
The girl was reportedly in the emergency department in the Waseca hospital with Moody. The two told police a story about her being sexually trafficked and abused by other people, leading her to run away from home to him late on June 19.
By June 22, the Minnesota Prairie County Alliance received a child protection report about Moody being in the Hennepin County Emergency Room waiting for an inpatient psychiatric bed to open. The complaint states Moody came there on June 21 after taking his 14-year-old "girlfriend" to the Waseca hospital, and he allegedly disclosed a "sexual relationship" with her going back one to two years.
During an interview with the girl June 29, she reportedly told a Waseca County sheriff's deputy that she had made up the allegations about sexual trafficking and abuse by other people. She admitted to a sexual relationship with Moody and accused him of coming up with the accusations against the others, according to the deputy.
The complaint states the girl told the deputy that Moody had taken her on trips to Iowa and Duluth in 2022 and the two had talked about going away together. The plan to run away had progressed as far as him having bought her clothes for when they went "to the next place."
Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola
Follow Brian Arola @BrianArola
