Sheldon James White, 24, of Cass Lake, Minn., was sentenced Sept. 14 for one count of felony second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a victim under 13 years old.
A second count of the same charge was dismissed.
He was sentenced to 48 months in prison, which was stayed for 25 years, and given credit for 179 days served. Conditional release after confinement has been set at 10 years.
He was placed on supervised probation for 25 years.
According to the criminal complaint, statements were made at the Family Advocacy Center in October 2008 regarding two children, then aged 9 and 5.
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Investigators with the Bemidji Police Department determined that White sexually assaulted the children in July 2007.
White had consumed alcohol and made sexual advances toward a woman, but when she refused him, he then went into the children's room. There, he assaulted the older child and then assaulted the younger child.
The older child ran and got his mother, who confronted White and slapped him several times before White fled the scene.
In October 2008, White provided a statement to investigators in which he said he remembered the incident from July 2007, but could not recall the details because he had been drinking.
White previously was convicted in 2007 in Cass County of third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a child aged 13-15 with an actor at least two years older than the victim.
As conditions of the stayed sentenced, he must serve 140 days in jail; work or pay off a $1,080 fine; follow all instructions of probation; complete a chemical dependency evaluation and all recommended treatment; submit a DNA sample; complete cognitive skills training at the direction of the Department of Corrections; remain law-abiding; submit to polygraph examinations as directed; not use alcohol or controlled substances; not enter bars or liquor stores; submit to random testing; attend a sex offender program; attend individual therapy; register as a predatory offender; not use or possess any pornographic or sexually explicit material; not have access to or use the internet without approval; not have any contact with the three victims or their parents; and not have any contact with people under the age of 18 without the permission of the Department of Corrections and Sex Offender Treatment team.
