A Granite Falls man who was accused of holding his girlfriend captive, assaulting her and waterboarding her in a St. Catherine University dormitory in 2023 was sentenced to 90 months in prison Monday.

Keanu Avery Labatte, 20, was sentenced to 90 months (7.5 years) in prison after pleading guilty to one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Labatte must also stay away from the victim, who has a Domestic Abuse No Contact Order against him, and register as a sex offender for life.

Court documents show Labatte will receive credit for 16 days of time served.

Labatte pleaded guilty in July to one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in exchange for the dismissal of four other charges.

According to a criminal complaint, Labatte had arrived at the university in September 2023 to visit his girlfriend of two months. The night he arrived, he saw text messages, photos and social media information that “made him angry,” triggering a harrowing weekend of physical and sexual abuse.

As previously reportedThe victim told investigators that Labatte first took the phone from him. He then forced himself on the victim after she told Labatte she did not want to have sex, the complaint states.

Labatte became increasingly violent, strangling the victim until she became dizzy and threatening to kill her and her family. He also hinted that he would hold a knife to her throat, an act he told the victim he had done to an ex-girlfriend.

The complaint describes that the victim “felt terrified to the point that she would simply lay down next to Labatte and not move for fear of what he would do to her.”

On Saturday, Labatte allegedly waterboarded the victim by laying her in a bathtub, covering her face with a washcloth and throwing water on her. The victim also recalled that Labatte threatened her with a knife, “looking for the right vein (in her arm) to cut deep enough so that no one could save her.”

The woman finally escaped on the morning of September 10, 2023, when she convinced Labatte to let her go get food from the dining room. Labatte returned her phone and told her to contact him on Snapchat to make sure she wasn’t trying to escape, the complaint states. Instead, she went to campus security to report the assaults.

When police arrived to search the room, they found a knife in a backpack and a wet wipe in the bathroom. 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.

Labatte was still in the room at the time and was arrested. He chose to plead fifth after officers read him his Miranda rights.

During a sexual assault examination, a nurse noted that the victim had suffered bruising around her ear, face and neck, as well as severe body pain.

Court records indicate Labatte was on probation at the time of the assault for violating a restraining order involving another woman in Yellow Medicine County.

If you or someone you know is experiencing abuse, there are several resources available to offer help. For immediate help, contact:

More than 12 million people in the United States alone are affected by domestic violence each year, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

The organizations mentioned above can help connect victims to resources such as safe shelter, advocacy, legal help, and support groups.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline also offers tips for identifying abuse and supporting victims of abuse. CLICK HERE to see those.

Other organizations that can help include:

Minnesota also has a list of many other resources for crime victims that can be found HERE.