A St. Paul man pleaded guilty to attempting to rape his co-worker after inviting her to his apartment for a barbecue this past summer.
Michael Leroy Deyo, 53, entered a Noorgard plea Friday in Ramsey County District Court, to one count of criminal sexual conduct for the August incident, according to court records.
A Noorgard plea allows defendants to plead to a crime even if they can’t recall the events of what happened because of intoxication or amnesia, said a spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney’s office.
Deyo invited his 25-year-old co-worker from Goodwill to his St. Paul apartment for a barbecue on Aug. 18. She arrived to find no one else there. Deyo told her it was “going to be a surprise party,” according to the criminal complaint.
Suspicious, the woman tried to leave, but Deyo dragged her back into the apartment, and threatened to kill her if she made noise and didn’t have sex with him.
She was able to escape when a man in the building heard screams and knocked on the door.
Deyo was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1983 and false imprisonment in 1988.
Deyo will be sentenced on his latest conviction March 8.