A 20-year-old Brainerd man is facing felony criminal sexual conduct charges after prosecutors say he gave a 15-year-old vodka and repeated lines of cocaine before sexually assaulting the teen at his home on Ojibwa Road. Charlie Richard Smith was charged in Crow Wing County District Court via summons on September 4, and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on October 5.
According to court documents cited by the Brainerd Dispatch, Smith was charged with felony criminal sexual conduct involving penetration of a victim aged 14 to 15 by a perpetrator at least 24 months older, as well as felony criminal sexual conduct involving penetration and a victim who was mentally impaired or physically helpless. Investigators say Smith picked up the child and the child's friend and brought them to his residence on Ojibwa Road.
The child told investigators that Smith had sexual intercourse with them, and reported that the encounter involved alcohol and cocaine consumption along with severe intoxication, per the same court documents relayed by the Dispatch's report. Smith allegedly offered the child and the child's friend cocaine and stopped the vehicle several times so he could use the drug himself. The teen said Smith told her he obtained the vodka from a liquor store using a fake ID.
Age, Consent, and a Disturbing Remark
The child said Smith told her he was 16 years old, and that he knew she and her friend were still in high school as of a July 24 conversation, the Dispatch's account states. When investigators later spoke with Smith at his residence on February 26, he reportedly said he believed the child and her friend were 18, and claimed he did not realize they were under 18 until afterward.
But per the same reporting, Smith is alleged to have made a starkly different statement in the moment — telling the teen “That's fine, we don't have to worry about that,” and separately saying he would go as low as 12 years old. Court documents show Smith asked the child for her school ID on July 24, and later called her repeatedly from a caller-ID-blocked line. The child's mother told investigators her daughter had sexual intercourse with a person named Charlie, and that it happened at the Ojibwa Road residence.
How Minnesota Law Treats the Charges
Under Minnesota Statute § 609.344, a felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct conviction carries a maximum penalty of up to 15 years in prison, a $30,000 fine, or both. The statute also limits any mistake-of-age defense for a complainant aged 14 to under 16 to cases in which the actor is no more than 60 months older than the complainant, requiring proof by a preponderance of evidence that the defendant reasonably believed the victim was 16 or older — and victim consent is not a valid defense regardless, according to Ryan Garry LLC. Court documents relayed by the Dispatch indicate Smith is 55 months and eight days older than the child, a gap that falls within that 60-month window.
Minnesota law also includes physically helpless victims in its criminal sexual conduct provisions. Minnesota law also addresses underage alcohol consumption and possession. Third-degree criminal sexual conduct is among the offenses subject to registration, according to Lundgren & Johnson.
Timeline of the Investigation
The Dispatch's reporting lays out a monthslong investigative timeline. A Baxter Police Department investigator spoke with the child's mother on November 11, 2025, and the child underwent a forensic interview on November 17, 2025. Investigators did not speak with Smith at his residence until February 26, 2026, when his father reportedly told investigators Smith would not answer questions without an attorney present. Smith has since retained St. Cloud attorney Justin Braulick of Heller and Thyen.
Court records reviewed by the Dispatch also show Smith facing other, separate legal matters. He was charged with felony stalking along with misdemeanor domestic assault and property damage stemming from a Baxter incident in May 2026, and posted $10,000 bail without conditions on May 26, 2026. More recently, he was charged with a misdemeanor violation of a restraining order involving contact with a child on September 2, 2026.
A Pattern in Crow Wing County Filings
Smith's case echoes another recent Crow Wing County filing. On May 13, 2026, prosecutors charged Sory Kourouma via summons with felony criminal sexual conduct involving a 14-year-old victim in Baxter, according to a report shared on Facebook. Like Smith, Kourouma was charged via summons rather than arrest — a standard mechanism under Crow Wing County District Court guidelines that allows felony complaints to proceed with a scheduled court appearance instead of immediate custodial detention, according to Crow Wing County District Court records.
Drug allegations tied to the case are also mentioned. No verified crime-rate figure is provided here for Crow Wing County.
Smith's first court appearance is set for October 5 in Crow Wing County District Court. No additional details on his defense strategy have been made public.
