ST. PETER — A 57-year-old rural New Ulm man was convicted of felony 2nd-degree criminal sexual conduct and gross misdemeanor interfering with privacy in Nicollet County District Court March 20.

Robert J. Sorenson, 57, 61436 County Road 21, was sentenced to nine years in the St. Cloud Correctional Facility, ordered to register as a predatory offender, serve 10 years on probation and have no contact with the victims. In addition, he was fined $12,080 and ordered to pay $4,651.09 in restitution which remains open for 30 days.

He originally faced 16 counts, 14 for criminal sexual conduct, for molesting a girl and secretly video recording another girl he knew.

He was credited with 43 days served in jail. With early release, he could be released in early 2024. The other charges against Sorenson were dismissed in the plea agreement.

In addition, Sorenson was convicted of misdemeanor stalking his estranged wife Wendy Sorenson and given a concurrent sentence March 19.

She has petitioned to plead guilty to gross misdemeanor child endangerment for failing to stop his sexual abuse which she reportedly knew about, according to court documents.

Wendy Sorenson faces a felony charge of wrongfully obtaining public assistance, the same charge Robert Sorenson faced until he pled guilty to other felony charges and agreed to pay Nicollet County Social Services $4,691.09.

The case began a year ago when the Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office received a criminal sexual conduct report alleging sexual abuse of a victim under age 16 and a second victim under age 18. Both victims had significant relationships with Sorenson, according to court documents.

Nicollet County authorities searched Sorenson’s residence and found multiple video recorders, CDs, DVDs, and sex toys. Sorenson later admitted to law enforcement that he “made a bad decision” to put a camera in a bathroom.

Sorenson admitted he wanted to record one of the teen girls taking a bath but deleted the video from the camera after learning she found the camera. He admitted stopping at a Willmar motel for several hours with the other girl where they gave each other massages.

Last spring, Sorenson was charged with felony and gross misdemeanor domestic abuse violating an order for protection (OFP) for allegedly tracking his wife on an OnStar vehicle device after she got a year-long OFP against him.

A Nicollet County fraud investigator received a fraud prevention referral on Sorenson regarding unreported income that would put some or all household members over an income limit for assistance on June 6, 2017. Sorenson was accused of receiving $4,651.09 in assistance from Nicollet County Social Services.