Man Says He Raped Woman Because 'I'm a Virgin,' Victim's Quick Thinking Helped Secure Arrest: Police

A 51-year-old woman was walking on a popular trail along a busy street in Vadnais Heights on Tuesday night when she was suddenly attacked from behind and sexually assaulted, per a report filed with the Ramsey County Dictrict Court, as reported by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

When police arrived shortly before 8 p.m., the victim described being attacked and thrown to the ground from behind. The much larger man allegedly first "told her that he tripped and fell into her," before telling her not to scream, according to court documents.

She had leaves in her hair, visible cuts on her face and a bruise on her throat, per CBS News, and told the responding officers that it hurt "too much to sit down."

On a call with a friend at the time, the woman's phone and headphones fell off when she was attacked. She nevertheless shouted for her friend to call 911 and as she struggled, per the criminal complaint, she managed to take the glasses off of her alleged assailant and toss them into the grass.

The victim said that the man had his forearm across her throat, strangling her, and covered her mouth as he sexually assaulted her for up to a half hour just off of the road as vehicles were driving by.

"The suspect did not seem to care that he was assaulting her in public," the complaint read. The woman said she also tried to flag cars passing by, but none stopped; "She believed that she was going to die," the document stated.

Ramsey County Undersheriff Jeff Ramacher praised the woman's strength and bravery in knocking off his glasses. That physical evidence proved a key piece of the case, per Fox 10, as it tipped off the suspect's family, who ultimately notified the sheriff's office.

Pairing that with a sexual assault examination of the victim, which was able to match DNA to an existing profile, and police arrested Tristen Alan Leritz, 21, at his home in White Bear Township on Thursday.

After hearing his Miranda rights, per police, the 6'8", 248-pound Leritz allegedly admitted to sexually assaulting the woman, per court filings. He told investigators that he saw her walking and watched her for about five minutes before riding past her on his bike to stage his ambush.

As for why he did it, the suspect allegedly said that he saw her walking and said, 'F--k it, since I'm a virgin." He also admitted later in the interview that he "fully raped her," per court documents.

Leritz was subsequently charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. Leritz had a previous criminal record after his conviction for motor vehicle theft last year, and he has a third-degree burglary charge case still pending, per KSTP. The burglary trial is set to begin in March.

His first court appearance for this new charge was scheduled for today. He's being held at the Ramsey County Jail on $500,000 bail.