SJU student charged with sexual assault

On Jan. 27, St. Joseph Police arrested 19-year-old SJU student Brian Kimithi, responding to a report of sexual assault at a CSB residence just after 3 a.m.

Kimithi has been charged with 1st degree criminal sexual conduct after a woman told law enforcement she was sleeping and woke to Kimithi raping her.

According to the criminal complaint, the woman told police officers that she tried to push him off and yell for help, before Kimithi began strangling her.

When Kimithi stopped, the woman left the room and alerted another woman who called the police.

In a Mirandized statement to police, Kimithi reportedly admitted to “vaginally penetrating [the victim] with his penis.”

CSB students living in Margretta Hall received a communication on Wednesday, Jan. 28, notifying them that administration was aware of and responding to “an incident” that brought law enforcement to the residence hall.

Kimithi’s first court appearance was on the morning of Jan. 29, where court minutes confirm he was a student at SJU and ROTC participant, along with stating that he has no prior criminal history and that his passport was surrendered.

His second court date is set for Feb. 23.

The Stearns County Attorney’s office declined to comment on active prosecution matters, and Kimithi’s public defender did not respond to a request for comment at the time of publication.

According to the MN Revisor’s office, if convicted, 1st degree criminal sexual conduct in Minnesota is a felony punishable by up to 30 years in prison and/or a maximum fine of $40,000.

On Monday, Assistant Stearns County Attorney Brianna Long filed a motion stating that the State would offer evidence at the trial for the purpose of asking the judge to
consider a more severe sentence than outlined by standard guidelines.

In the court document, Long justified this request because of the “particular vulnerability of the victim” and that the incident took place in a location where the victim had expectations of privacy.

Over the last week, multiple community announcements have been sent to students and families with information regarding the ongoing investigation.

A message from President Brian Bruess last Friday wrote that Kimithi is no longer an enrolled student, and that a no trespassing order is in place on both campuses.

Bruess said that “the safety of our students remains our greatest priority,” and mentioned that additional counseling appointments are available on both campuses through the Well-Being Center.

Multiple sources told The Record that Kimithi had been seen as recently as the last month working as a student officer for CSB Security.

An update from Chief Facilities and Resilience Officer Russ Klein sent on Friday afternoon mentioned that Kimithi “was not working in a student employment capacity at the time of the incident, and no student security credentials were used.”

When asked to confirm the duration, if any, of Kimithi’s reported employment at CSB Security, Director of Public Relations Michael Hemmesch declined to comment on
behalf of CSB Security, stating that the campus-wide messages from Friday were the only information able to be made public at this time.

In response to a question about whether the schools do their own Title IX investigation in any case with criminal charges, Hemmesch, answering on behalf of administration, referred to Section VIII, Article E of CSB+SJU’s Title IX policy, which states that “individuals may file a criminal complaint and a formal complaint under this policy simultaneously.”

The policy also states that the institutions will provide complete assistance to law enforcement in obtaining evidence in connection with any criminal conduct.

The Clery Act is a federal law that requires all colleges and universities that receive federal student aid to disclose information about campus crime, safety policies and emergency procedures.

In 2024 (the latest available year of data), there were four rapes reported at CSB+SJU, and seven in 2023.

However, sexual assault often goes unreported — according to data from RAINN (the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the U.S.), only 1 in 3 victims report
sexual assault to law enforcement, and around 80% of female college students do not report to the police.

Hemmesch told The Record that “five or fewer” cases of rape or sexual assault at CSB+SJU have resulted in criminal charges over the past 10 years.

Several community/safety gatherings were held this week on both campuses, intended to provide resources for students.

In an email sent to students on Monday, Mary Geller, Associate Provost for Student Success, wrote that “we remain in close coordination, and I am in meetings with both CSB and SJU student groups across both campuses to ensure students have access to appropriate resources and care.”

CSB senior Gabrielle Bauers said she is frustrated with the schools’ response, particularly regarding the timeline of communications and the events held afterwards.

“When I called the president’s office to ask why we were not informed of the situation, more than two days after the fact, I was told to ‘have some patience,’” Bauers
said. “For me, even the choice to organize ‘campus safety gatherings’ rather than implement anti-violence education or other preventive measures speaks to the college’s priorities.”

This is a developing story.

Updates will be made to The Record’s website as new information becomes available.