A man accused of following a young woman off the light rail in St. Paul in spring and threatening to rape her has been found incompetent to stand trial.
That means the state’s criminal case against Andrew Wardell King, 56, will be suspended as he heads toward civil commitment, according to a spokesman for the Ramsey County attorney’s office.
King was charged in March with one count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct for his alleged behavior toward a woman at the light-rail platform at Fifth and Sibley streets in St. Paul that month.
The 20-year-old woman told police she had been sketching people on the platform when she started talking with King, charges say.
The two reportedly boarded the light rail and continued talking as she sketched him. At some point, King became “verbally aggressive,” and the woman decided to leave the train, she told police, according to his criminal complaint.
King, of South St. Paul, followed her and pushed her up against a wall before groping her, “forcefully” kissing her and threatening to sexually assault her, court documents say.
The woman resisted, and King eventually let her go, according to the complaint. Video footage captured from the light rail’s surveillance system backs up much of the woman’s claim.
When questioned by officers, King said the woman had told him that she “had fantasies” about being sexually assaulted and that he was worried she might end up reporting his conduct as unwanted, which is why he also called 911, the complaint said.
King made the 911 call 14 minutes after the incident.
A Ramsey County district judge determined King was not mentally fit for trial earlier this month. It’s expected that he will now be civilly committed. His competency will be evaluated on an ongoing basis and reported to the courts. His criminal case will proceed if and when he is deemed mentally sound to answer to the charges.