FERGUS FALL, Minn. 鈥� A Fergus Falls man was sentenced to more than four years in prison after investigators said he groped two girls in Shopko last year.
Otter Tail County District Judge Sharon Benson sentenced Joshua John Solmon, 40, on Thursday, Oct. 24, to 51 months behind bars for a fourth-degree felony of criminal sexual conduct. A second charge of a similar nature was dismissed, and he was given 321 days credit for time served.
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Solmon was charged Dec. 11 after a parent said her daughter and the girl鈥檚 friend were sexually assaulted in the Fergus Falls Shopko just days before the report was made, according to a criminal complaint. The two teenagers, who said they didn鈥檛 know the defendant, were shopping in the makeup aisle when Solmon touched the girls鈥� butts and thighs 鈥渋n the same groping manner,鈥� the complaint said.
He told police he accidentally bumped into the two girls, who he thought were 13 or 14 years old. He later told police he thought the girls 鈥渨ere kinda cute鈥� and he 鈥渏ust reached out and did it without first thinking.鈥�
Solmon must register as a predatory offender once released.
