Star Tribune
Over victim’s objections, ex-Ramsey County public defender, assistant AG spared prison for sex abuse
Over his victim’s objections, a former Ramsey County public defender and assistant attorney general convicted of criminal sexual conduct for multiple assaults on his onetime romantic partner was sentenced to four years of probation and 90 days of electronic home monitoring.
Adam Kujawa, 38, of St. Paul received the term Monday in Washington County District Court. He had entered an Alford plea in March to charges of felony sexual predatory conduct and gross misdemeanor fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct, which allowed him to maintain his innocence while acknowledging that a jury would have likely found him guilty at trial.
He will have to register as a predatory offender and have no direct or indirect contact with his victim.
As part of the plea, what is known as a “global plea agreement,” other criminal sexual conduct charges related to the same victim were dismissed in Ramsey, Cook and Crow Wing counties, and Aitkin County prosecutors also agreed not to file or prosecute a first-degree criminal sexual conduct charge it had prepared.
Kujawa resigned from the Ramsey County public defender’s officer earlier this year after entering his plea. Kujawa was sworn in as assistant attorney general in 2013 and stayed with the office until 2017. That year, he joined Ramsey County as a public defender.
Court documents portray a toxic relationship full of sexually explicit text messages, infidelity and accusations of sexual abuse from the woman who says she felt trapped in the relationship with Kujawa for four years and was frequently forced to have sex with him. She told police that initially in the relationship the sex was consensual. But eventually, she said, if she refused, he would get violent and torment or stalk her. Two witnesses told police they observed Kujawa verbally and sexually assault her.
The woman was not present in court. A victim advocate for Ramsey County read her impact statement detailing the effects of Kujawa’s “psychological, physical and sexual abuse for over three years.”
“I want to make very clear that what Adam Kujawa did to me is something that words cannot ever capture,” the statement read. “The depths to which he destroyed a kind and happy person cannot ever be expressed justly in text.”
The impact statement also alleged that Kujawa was given preferential treatment in the legal process due to his previous employment as a public defender and assistant attorney general — specifically that Judge Siv Mjanger allowed Kujawa to chose his own psychosexual evaluator.
“I have been mortified to see that Adam was right, he, a wealthy white attorney will not face consequences and will receive special, extremely lenient treatment,” the statement read. “My voice was squashed, just as Adam had said it would be.”
The Star Tribune does not identify sexual assault victims unless they consent to being named.
Mjanger pushed back on the allegation that there was preferential treatment given, and asked Washington County probation officer Tracy Dillard if the process had been routine through Canvas Health, a certified community behavioral health clinic in Stillwater.
“That is correct, they are an entirely neutral entity and not affiliated with the defendant in this case at all,” Dillard said. “It was a neutral agency that conducted that psychosexual evaluation, at my direction.”
His attorney, David Lundgren, noted that while Kujawa was not a victim in this case he found it unfair to say his client had received preferential treatment in the legal process.
“Mr. Kujawa is a good man,” Lundgren said, mentioning Kujawa’s family sitting behind him along with six of his former colleagues from the Ramsey County public defender’s office. “He is not a violent person, he is not a manipulative person. He is someone that cares about others first.”
Later, Kujawa stood and addressed the court, “I hope to be able to continue to serve my community,” he said.
Kujawa’s victim wrote in her statement that her sense of community and belief in the legal process had been shattered. She wrote that she carries mace with her at all times, to the grocery store or the mailbox and that she had spent years waiting for justice while being subjected to “excruciating medical appointments, interviews, collecting and submitting painful evidence.”
“He has taken much from me and I know I am not alone,” the statement continued. “I truly look for the best in everyone, but this experience has taught me that this person is something I can find no good in.”
Star Tribune staff writer Kim Hyatt contributed to this story.
Police said they will be releasing details Monday about the shooting death of a 23-year-old man last week in New Hope.
Carnell Mark Johnson Jr., of Bloomington, was shot in the chest Thursday in the 7300 block of Bass Lake Road and died that same day at North Memorial Health Hospital, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
A police official said more information will be released about the shooting later Monday. No arrests have been announced.
The fledgling Minneapolis “safety-beyond-policing” department, which has been accused of mismanaging contracts with violence interrupters, is again under scrutiny for requesting nearly $1 million for a business owned by the sister of one of its staff members.
Unanswered questions about the Black Business Enterprises Fund and the purpose of the contract have repeatedly delayed a City Council vote on the contract.
Neighborhood Safety Director Luana Nelson-Brown came before the council’s administration oversight committee on Oct. 7 to argue for giving the business a one-year, $992,400 contract for “capacity building and compliance consulting services.” Black Business Enterprises Fund would use the money to employ a team of 17 experts to coach violence interrupters on financial literacy and how to comply with government accounting requirements.
“A good financial system allows organizations to track their spending accurately, ensuring that funds are used properly and enabling them to prepare regular reports that meet government expectations,” Nelson-Brown said. “It also streamlines invoice reimbursements, which allows us to make more timely payments, and it is necessary for audits and evaluation of program success. I also want to note that these are all things that have been identified as weaknesses.”
Nelson-Brown said the need for the contract is underscored by a lawsuit that accused the city of arbitrarily awarding millions of dollars to violence prevention groups without proper accounting, as well as the “Safe and Thriving Communities” report on building a comprehensive model of public safety. The city commissioned the Harvard University report after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
City Council members have also been pushing for greater accountability in the Neighborhood Safety Department, particularly after a whistleblower complaint shared with council members this year questioned the relationships between contract recipients and department staff. One of the whistleblower’s claims had to do with Black Business Enterprises Fund owner Nancy Korsah, and her sister, Neighborhood Safety Department staffer Georgia Korsah.
On Oct. 7, council members asked Nelson-Brown about that relationship, whether the business had experience working with nonprofits — particularly those that provide violence prevention services — and whether it is an organization capable of helping others build theirs.
Council Member LaTrisha Vetaw said she wasn’t aware of what the Black Business Enterprises Fund had done besides “having a gala.” Council Member Jeremiah Ellison said a review of the organization’s website raised a “red flag.”
A motorcyclist set off a three-vehicle crash on a central Minnesota highway and was killed, officials said Monday.
The wreck occurred about 10:40 p.m. Sunday north of Royalton on Hwy. 10, the State Patrol said.
The motorcyclist was heading east on Hwy. 10 and struck a fish house being pulled by a pickup truck driver. The motorcyclist, a 27-year-old man from Sauk Rapids, Minn., was thrown from his bike and struck a median pillar.
A car heading in the same direction hit the motorcycle.
Occupying the pickup were a 46-year-old driver from Rice, Minn., and a 43-year-old passenger, also from Rice. The car’s driver, a 34-year-old woman from Cobalt, was her vehicle’s only occupant.
Identities of all the people involved in the crash have yet to be released, and there is no word yet on whether anyone was injured other than the motorcyclist.
