A Cloquet man pleaded guilty today to sexually assaulting one preteen girl and conceded the prosecution could prove he also sexually assaulted a second preteen girl.
David Richard Lovshin, 35, pleaded guilty in St. Louis County District Court to second-degree criminal sexual conduct with one girl. He entered an Alford plea in the second case, in which he was accused of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, but that charge was amended by the St. Louis County Attorney's Office to first-degree assault.
In an Alford Plea, the criminal defendant claims innocence but admits that the prosecution could likely prove the charge. Acceptance of an Alford plea is in the court's discretion.
Judge Eric Hylden held off accepting Lovshin's pleas today. Hylden ordered that an Arrowhead Regional Corrections probation officer conduct an investigation of Lovshin's background and that the defendant undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation.
If the court accepts the plea agreement, Lovshin would receive an 86-month prison sentence for the first-degree assault conviction and a concurrent probationary sentence for the second-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction.
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According to court records, Lovshin was on probation for a criminal abuse conviction in 2005 in a case in which he had initially been charged with sexually abusing a mentally impaired victim.
In the first-degree assault case, the victim's mother reported that a relative saw Lovshin take a girl who was 5 or 6 years old at the time into her bedroom and then the relative heard the girl crying loudly and screaming.
The girl was interviewed by St. Louis County Sheriff's Investigator Stephen Borchers at the First Witness Child Abuse Resource Center. She said she had been sexually abused by Lovshin on multiple occasions. She suffered great bodily harm and permanent disfigurement.
In the second-degree criminal sexual conduct case, Lovshin admitted having sexual contact with another 5- or 6-year-old girl while he viewed pornography on a computer screen.
Lovshin is being held in the St. Louis County Jail. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 5.
