Man accused, charged with criminal sexual assault

An Austin man has been arrested and charged in a case of sexual assault that allegedly occurred last week.

Allen Thomas Gartner, 38, has been charged with three felony counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct. He made his first appearance in Mower County District Court Wednesday morning and is currently being held in the Mower County Jail on $250,000 bail without conditions and $100,000 with conditions.

According to court documents, Austin Police officers were dispatched to a report of criminal sexual conduct at around 4 a.m. on July 5. The victim in the case told police that she had been spending time with a friend and Gartner the night of July 4.

The victim eventually went home, but the complaint states that Gartner began messaging her on Facebook where the victim stated the conversation was casual with some talk about hanging out with another male she was seeing.

Police reviewed the messages and found out, however, that Gartner became irate with the mention of this other man.

Gartner eventually came over to the victim’s house where Gartner allegedly began to touch the victim inappropriately that led to more aggressive behavior.

Gartner’s next court appearance is July 22.

Looking back at court records, Gartner has had numerous run-ins with law enforcement and was most recently convicted of being a violent felon in possession of a stun gun in June of 2019. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison for that conviction.

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