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Fairmont police: Sex offender charged

FAIRMONT — A Fairmont man is facing a felony charge in Martin County.

Steven Theodore Rummens, 39, has been charged with two counts of knowingly violating registration requirements as a predatory offender. The charges each carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

According to the complaint:

On June 21, a Fairmont police officer received a threats complaint involving Rummens. While investigating the matter, the officer discovered that Rummens is required to register under Minnesota’s predatory offender registration law. In his review of law enforcement data, the officer discovered an alert out of South Dakota. It listed Rummens as being non-compliant with registration requirements.

On the evening of June 21, the officer observed a vehicle involved in the threats complaint and conducted a traffic stop. The passenger of the vehicle was identified as Rummens.

The officer spoke to Rummens and advised him that he was showing up as non-compliant with registration requirements. Rummens said he had received paperwork regarding his registration and said he is no longer required to register as a predatory offender. Rummens also said he is currently homeless.

On June 22, the officer reviewed documents from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. They showed that Rummens is currently registered as being incarcerated in the Yankton County Jail. According to this paperwork, the last registration paperwork received by the BCA indicated Rummens was incarcerated as of Feb. 7, 2019.

Another Fairmont officer contacted Rummens, who said that on June 23 he would present paperwork showing he was released from registration requirements. Rummens never brought the documentation.

On July 9, the officer reviewed the non-compliance documents provided by the BCA. The documents indicate that Rummens is required to meet predatory offender registration requirements until Dec. 3, 2020.

The first officer reviewed numerous police incident reports involving Rummens between 2019 and 2020. He discovered that the Fairmont Police Department had interacted with Rummens on 13 different occasions between February 2019 and June 21, 2020.

On July 7, a Fairmont officer stopped at a residence in the 100 block of Lakeview Street to discuss with Rummens the documents he indicated released him from registration requirements. He was unable to make contact with Rummens at that time.

On July 16, the officer received a phone call from Rummens, who asked the officer why he had stopped at his residence. The officer said the Martin County Sheriff’s Office had harassment restraining order paperwork it needed to serve. Rummens was asked to come to the law enforcement center in Fairmont.

Rummens arrived at the law enforcement center and the officer advised him of his rights. During the discussion, Rummens admitted he moved back to Fairmont a “year and a half ago.” He admitted he had been living at the residence on Lakeview Street and at another residence in the 600 block of Burton Lane with a relative.

Rummens admitted he had not registered those addresses, and again said he no longer needed to register. He said BCA paperwork dismissing him from registration was at the relative’s residence, but he was unable to look for the paperwork. When asked why he did not contact the relative for the paperwork, Rummens did not give an answer.

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