Jul. 2—POLK COUNTY, Minn. — A Polk County man was sentenced Tuesday, July 1, to 10 years of supervised probation for engaging in sexual contact with a minor.
Ilia Grigory Basargin, 33,
pleaded guilty in May
to second-degree criminal sexual contact. He gave a Norgaard plea to the crime, acknowledging his guilt but asserting that he can’t remember committing the crime due to intoxication.
Basargin was reported in April 2023 for engaging in sexual contact with two juvenile girls, one under the age of 12 and the other under the age of 9, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case. He was solely prosecuted for the contact with the child who was under the age of 9.
When he spoke with law enforcement, Basargin said he’d been “wasted” that day and passed out, then woke up to people kicking and screaming at him, the statement said.
Basargin originally pleaded not guilty to the felony offense
in April 2024.
Second-degree criminal sexual contact has a maximum 20-year prison sentence, though state sentencing guidelines recommend between three and 14 years.
Basargin was sentenced Tuesday to the minimum three years in prison, though the sentence was stayed for a period of 10 years, during which he will be on supervised probation. A probation violation could result in him serving those three years in custody.
He was ordered to serve 60 days in the local jail. At the time of sentencing, he had already served 32 days; the rest is permitted to be spent on work release or the Sentence to Service program, a sentencing alternative that allows nonviolent offenders to work on community improvement projects in lieu of jail time.
Basargin must complete a psychological-sexual evaluation within 45 days of sentencing and follow through with any recommendations made as a result of the assessment. If he does not qualify for or refuses to participate in the sex offender treatment program, at least 120 additional days will be added to his local jail sentence.
The prosecution also reserved the right to request that Basargin serve his prison sentence if he does not comply.
He must also undergo a comprehensive assessment, register as a predatory offender, not use alcohol, submit to random searches and testing and have no contact with persons under the age of 18 unless authorized by the entity in charge of his psychological-sexual evaluation.