A former mixed martial arts heavyweight fighter from St. Paul accused of repeated instances of sexual misconduct pleaded guilty to the crimes Tuesday.
Brett Charles Rogers, known as Brett “Da Grimm” Rogers in the fighting world, entered Alford pleas in Ramsey County District Court to two charges of fifth-degree criminal sexual conduct and a third charge of interfering with someone’s privacy, according to court records.
“The plea was an Alford plea so he didn’t enter an admission of guilt … but he (decided) to plead in order to take advantage of the offer from the state,” said Terrance Lyndon Hendricks, Rogers’ defense attorney.
The state’s offer includes no additional jail time for Hendricks presuming he remains law abiding and adheres to all other terms of his probation, Hendricks said. He must also undergoing a psycho-sexual evaluation.
Rogers, who is reportedly homeless, was in the basement of the George Latimer Central Library in downtown St. Paul last November when he groped a library employee while riding beside him in an elevator, according to one of the complaints.
The man reportedly slapped Rogers’ hand away and asked him what he was doing. Rogers didn’t say anything and exited the elevator as soon as the door opened.
Then, on Jan. 4, he asked a man who was standing next to him at a urinal inside a bathroom in a St. Paul skyway if he wanted to have sex inside one of the stalls, according to the complaint. When the man said no, Rogers grabbed his buttocks, the complaint said. The man quickly left and later reported the incident to police.
The third incident took place in the Ramsey County Jail after Rogers was booked on the earlier alleged offenses.
In that instance, Rogers’ cellmate was sleeping when he woke to find Rogers fondling him, court documents say.
When questioned about it, Rogers said his cellmate was lying.
The 6-foot-4, 270-pound heavyweight fighter competed for Strikeforce, a mixed-martial arts and kickboxing organization based in San Jose, Calif. He lost his professional contract after assaulting his wife in 2011.
Strikeforce discovered Rogers while he was at work changing tires at Sam’s Club in 2009. He started losing fights shortly after joining the group.
He also has been convicted of violating a no-contact order, felony-level domestic assault.