A St. Paul defense attorney facing criminal sexual misconduct charges in two counties will not serve time in prison under a plea agreement that his victim called “egregiously lenient” and said does not “reflect the seriousness of what he has done.”

Adam Kujawa, 38, had worked as a Ramsey County public defender for many years. He resigned Wednesday, a day after pleading guilty to Washington County charges stemming from sexual misconduct on his boat on Forest Lake in May 2021.

Kujawa entered an Alford plea to an amended charge of felony criminal sexual predatory conduct and to gross misdemeanor fifth-degree nonconsensual sexual conduct. An Alford plea means he maintains innocence while acknowledging the state likely has enough evidence to convict him.

The plea deal is being referred to as a “global resolution” by prosecutors because they say it settles criminal cases in two other Minnesota counties alleging similar conduct involving the same victim.

The woman, now 38, said Kujawa “trapped” her in a “domestic/sexual violence relationship” for over four years beginning in 2017.

Terms of Kujawa’s plea deal include two stayed prison sentences that total three and a half years, and four years of probation. He faces up to six months in jail at sentencing, which is scheduled for July 7.

He must remain registered as a predatory offender for 10 years, and undergo a psychosexual evaluation and follow the recommendations. He is prohibited from objecting to up to a 50-year order of protection by the victim.

Kujawa did not return a call Friday seeking comment. His attorney, David Lundgren, declined comment.

The underlying cases

Washington County prosecutors filed two cases against Kujawa in December 2021 — one alleging the Forest Lake incident, the other for alleged sexual assaults at his St. Paul apartment in September of that year.

Washington County handled the second case for the Ramsey County attorney’s office due to perceived conflicts of interest. Washington County District Judge Siv Mjanger dismissed the case last year, citing insufficient evidence to support the charge.

The original felony charge in the Washington County criminal complaint alleged third-degree criminal sexual conduct by means of force or coercion. According to the complaint, a witness reported to police in November 2021 that around May 15, while on the boat, Kujawa grabbed the victim by the hips and waist and pulled her toward himself. The witness said the victim told him “no” and to stop what he was doing. Kujawa placed his hands up the victim’s dress at least five times, the witness said. The victim told police that she would try to get away, but he would pull her back.

In the Ramsey County case, the woman reported that on Sept. 29, 2021, that she had been raped by Kujawa twice at his Grand Avenue apartment over the prior two days. She told police that she was in a “romantic relationship” with him for four years, the complaint said.

She detailed various accounts of his behavior toward her, telling police she “knew there would be consequences if she did not do what he wanted,” the complaint said. When she would try to leave him, he would stalk her, she said.

Kujawa was charged with one count of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by means of force or coercion. In Mjanger’s order dismissing the charge in July, the judge wrote that the defense had “cited an impressive factual catalog of evidence that proves that the (woman) was not coerced into performing the sex acts in question” and was a “willing participant.”

Mjanger wrote the woman had explained that she had had sex with Kujawa “so he does not leave her for someone else and to avoid him pouting or refusing to talk to her. While this may be unhealthy or manipulative, it does not amount to coercion as defined by Minnesota law.”

Terms of the deal

Under Tuesday’s plea deal, the Cook County attorney’s office will dismiss its case that charged Kujawa with four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct by means of force or coercion. The charges were filed last September after the woman alleged that Kujawa “forced” her to have sex on four occasions over three days at a Lutsen ski resort in February 2020.

Also, the Aitkin County attorney’s office agreed not to file a criminal complaint it had drafted charging Kujawa with first-degree criminal sexual conduct and “lesser offenses” related to an alleged incident on Feb. 29, 2020, according to the plea petition.

Meanwhile, the Crow Wing County attorney’s office recently considered filing a case against Kujawa but declined charges, according to prosecutors.

At the plea hearing, the victim told Mjanger in a prepared statement read by a Ramsey County victim advocate that she is “not OK with any of the charges in other counties being dismissed as part of this plea” and that she “was given no voice and no choice in this decision.”

Prosecutors could have pushed the maximum jail penalty allowed of one day shy of one year, “but they did not do so,” she said.

“I live in fear of him every day, and yet he can do as he pleases with no concern for facing any real consequences for his actions,” she said.

On Friday, the Washington County attorney’s office said in a statement that the victim attended multiple meetings that were held over nearly several weeks and her input, “sought through consistent and thoughtful discussion, led to careful consideration of her wishes and contributed to every decision made in this case.”

“While we are sympathetic to the anguish and turmoil this case has brought upon the victim,” the statement continued, “we firmly believe this resolution is in the best interest of justice and public safety given all of the unique factors and circumstances in this case.”

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