MN Pastor Arrested In Clyman Sentenced In Assault

1/23/11 – Six months in jail for a Minnesota pastor who was arrested last May at a Town of Clyman church for molesting a foreign exchange student who was staying at his home. Reverend David Edwin Radtke of the St. Peter Lutheran Church in Gibbon, Minnesota was convicted by a jury last October of Second and Third Degree Criminal Sexual Assault. According to the complaint, Radtke hosted the foreign exchange student at his home beginning in August of 2010. The 16-year-old victim told investigators that Radtke would massage her to sleep every couple weeks around midnight. On May 17, she awoke to Radtke assaulting her. Radtke told his wife and son about the incident and both asked the victim to forgive him. He fled to Wisconsin that weekend and was found at a church in Clyman the following Monday. Officers took him into custody outside, behind the church. During a sentencing hearing on Friday, Radtke told the court that he was truly sorry for his actions and the pain and suffering they caused, but both the judge and prosecutor said they felt Radtke showed no remorse and was unwilling to take responsibility for his actions. Assistant Sibley County Attorney Donald Lannoye said that it did not appear he was taking responsibility, and may have thought the verdict was unjust. The victim and her family watched the sentencing via web cam from Madrid, Spain. Along with jail time, the judge ordered Radtke to register as a sex offender and complete sex offender treatment.