Whatever Became Of Good Ol' Thomas Wayne Evenstad, The "Chat Line Rapist?" (We'd Love To Tell You, But, Um, It's Complicated...)

DOC mug shot, therefore in public domain, blog post by John Hoff


Wouldn't I just love to tell you all about Thomas Wayne Evanstad, the chat line rapist, and where he has ended up! First, let's familiarize ourselves with this smiling, pleasant-faced creep, whose crimes at the end of the 1990s surely must have spread fear through the ranks of female chat line users throughout Minnesota, if not the Midwest or the nation. Thank god internet dating sites are now more popular than chat lines and we're all much safer. (Sarcasm font)

This appeal, linked below, provides a good overview of what Evanstad did. An 18-year-old female met Evanstad through a "chat line" service. Evanstad picked up the young woman at her aunt's house, took her to his own house, and raped her. Taking matters into her own hands, performing her own investigation (this is so often how something gets ACCOMPLISHED in the criminal justice system) the victim contacted other women on the chat line and found two other victims who were willing to testify in regard to "sexual misconduct" by Evanstad.

http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/470/777/635153/

Because the Star Tribune sucks in regard to their links going dead after a while, I can't find a link to the original article from 1999. Here is a snippet of it, however...



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An Eden Prairie man raped a woman he met through a telephone chat line, a jury decided Friday in Hennepin County.

Thomas W. Evenstad, 33, had claimed that the sexual activity was consensual. The jury deliberated about five hours before convicting him of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.

District Judge Francis Connolly will sentence Evenstad on April 16. Sentencing guidelines recommend a prison term of at least seven years.

The woman reported in January 1998 that she had been assaulted. The assault happened sometime between Oct. 25, 1997, and Nov. 18, 1997, in Evenstad's home. He lived in Richfield at the time.

Four similar …
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That snippet was located HERE if you want to check my sources for accuracy:

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-62470923.html

Evanstad's offender info--including his disturbingly smiling mugshot, can be found here:

http://www.doc.state.mn.us/publicviewer/Inmate.asp?OID=172482

A video parody about chat lines is linked here, for your amusement, and to lighten the mood of this article.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m8oodpIBRw

So! Wow, wouldn't I love to tell readers more. I think readers in North Minneapolis have a right to know the infamous "chat line rapist" is out of prison, and from time to time he has performed duties which (I assert) touch upon controversial, newsworthy issues in North Minneapolis politics. Though not exactly upon the center stage, he has been near the stage playing a visible role as certain Northside dramas proceed.

If I were free to do so, I might even cite facts I know about and then wonder aloud--not without firm basis--whether in the course of his duties Evanstad may have reason to come into contact or close proximity with other sex offenders and then--the next leap is rather logical--wonder whether that's really ALLOWED, whether or not his "supervised release" conditions might prohibit that?

Yeah, I'd like to write all that stuff. But the simple fact is this blog is under an intense legal attack which has gotten the attention of lawyers all over this nation and--using my best judgment, here--discretion seems the better part of valor for the time being. So I'm throwing some information out, but it's all very PUBLIC information and the rest is vague, oh so vague, and speculative, and hypothetical.

So here's the deal. If any commenter--not an ANONYMOUS commenter, but a commenter who can be readily identified--wants to speak in their own name and say what they know, I will publish it. If readers want to--oh, how would the Coffee Talk lady put it so well?--Talk amongst yourselves--then go ahead and talk, and send email links, and do whatever it is readers do with the information I publish.

But, as the mainstream media puts it so well, sometimes the truth DOESN'T set you free. Sometimes even this blog doesn't dare publish the truth.

But truth wants to get loose, and truth finds a way.