Rural Detroit Lakes man sentenced for felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A rural Detroit Lakes man was sentenced for third-degree criminal sexual conduct in Becker County District Court.

According to court records, in April 2019, the Detroit Lakes police department received a report from a teenage girl concerning 28-year-old Erin John Westhoff of rural Detroit Lakes. The girl said Westhoff sexually assaulted her multiple times over a period of several years when she was younger.

In a plea agreement with prosecutors in consultation with the victim and her family, Westhoff was sentenced to 180 days in jail and six-and-a-half years in prison, which will be stayed for 15 years while he serves supervised probation.

He must also register as a predatory offender; have no contact with the victim or other juveniles besides his own child; is not allowed to possess firearms or ammunition; and submit to a sexual offender treatment program and perform all aftercare recommendations.

Westhoff has also been charged in a separate case with two counts of felony fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which involve walking nude in front of children and groping a pre-teen girl.