(C) Minnesota Reformer
This story was originally published by Minnesota Reformer and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Construction worker who pleaded guilty to rape is once again a wanted fugitive • Minnesota Reformer [1]

['Max Nesterak', 'More From Author', 'August', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width']

Date: 2025-08-15

A construction worker who pleaded guilty in February to raping a coworker on an apartment development years earlier skipped his sentencing hearing in July and is once again a wanted fugitive.

Juan Diego Medina Cisneros was charged in 2022 in Dakota County with raping Norma Izaguirre the year before while working for Absolute Drywall on the Viking Lakes development in Eagan, a sprawling multiuse development built around the Minnesota Vikings’ headquarters and training facilities.

Medina Cisneros, a 33-year-old Mexican citizen, wasn’t apprehended until two years later, in June 2024, while crossing into the United States at the Gateway International Bridge in Texas. After the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office brought him back to Minnesota, he was released the next day on $100,000 bail.

Nearly six months later, he pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct and agreed to serve 36 months in prison followed by 10 years conditional release as part of a settlement agreement with the Dakota County Attorney’s Office. The sentence is five months shorter than the sentencing guidelines, which the prosecutor justified because Medina Cisneros expressed remorse. Izaguirre agreed to the deal.

At the plea hearing in February, Dakota County District Court Judge Luis Morales told Medina Cisneros he would likely be deported and barred from entering the United States following his prison term if he’s not a U.S. citizen.

Medina Cisneros wasn’t taken into custody after pleading guilty. The judge delayed accepting his guilty plea until July, pending a pre-sentence investigation and psychosexual evaluation.

The Dakota County Attorney’s Office did not provide an explanation for why there was such a large gap in time between Medina Cisneros’ guilty plea and formal sentencing as stipulated by the plea agreement.

In May, an arrest warrant was issued for Medina Cisneros’ arrest for allegedly failing to remain in contact with Dakota County Community Corrections as required as part of his pre-sentencing release. He didn’t show up to his sentencing hearing on July 8.

Reached for comment, Medina Cisneros’ attorney William McKibbin said he doesn’t know where his client is.

Izaguirre, who first shared her story publicly with the Reformer in 2022, filed a civil lawsuit in February against Absolute Drywall for sex discrimination and retaliation. The Minnesota Department of Human Rights joined the lawsuit to force the company to adopt policies to prevent sexual abuse, while seeking oversight of the company.

Izaguirre says she reported Medina Cisneros to her supervisors for making unwanted advances and inappropriately touching her, but the company told her it determined it was a consensual relationship.

In court filings, company owner Dan Ortega says Izaguirre reported harassment but not rape.

Izaguirre says when she met with Ortega, he told her she was a good worker but he was advised to fire her for giving them trouble. After their meeting, the company reduced her hours and then stopped giving her work.

In response to a discrimination charge by the Department of Human Rights, the company’s attorney said Izaguirre was terminated because she declined cleaning work and demanded other types of work.

Absolute Drywall also faced allegations of wage theft on the Viking Lakes project, as the Reformer first reported in 2022. The state Department of Labor and Industry investigated the allegations but did not cite the company for violations.

In 2016, the state Department of Labor and Industry found Absolute Drywall misclassified workers and was fined $1,000.

That same year, the U.S. Department of Labor found the company employed a 14-year-old hanging drywall, in violation of child labor laws. The teenager sometimes worked more than 50 hours a week. This child labor case prompted a second investigation, and the U.S. Department of Labor determined the company misclassified workers, which allowed it to avoid paying overtime, health insurance and payroll taxes. The company was ordered to pay some 27 workers over $100,000 in unpaid wages.

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/2025/08/15/construction-worker-who-pleaded-guilty-to-rape-is-once-again-a-wanted-fugitive/

Published and (C) by Minnesota Reformer
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons License CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/MnReformer/