OLIVIA -- Matthew Thomas Fahey, 25, of Marshall, is facing charges with possible prison sentences ranging from 30 to 50 years for allegedly abducting and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl Tuesday in Fairfax.
The Renville County Attorney's Office filed four counts on Wednesday against Fahey.
Those charges included: criminal sexual predatory conduct; kidnapping - to facilitate felony or flight; first-degree criminal sexual conduct - fear of great bodily harm; and first-degree criminal sexual conduct - injury - use of force/coerce.
He is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges at 10 a.m. today in District Court in Olivia.
Law enforcement officers have praised the courage of the alleged victim in the case. The criminal complaint filed in court says that after being threatened, sexually assaulted and injured, the girl jumped out of a moving vehicle. She was injured by the fall, but still managed to put back the pieces of her broken cell phone that had been tossed out of the car and call her mother for help.
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The complaint gives this account: The girl was delivering newspapers around 7 a.m. in Fairfax when the defendant appeared to be following her in a silver-colored Chevy Malibu.
The car pulled into a driveway, and Fahey is alleged to have grabbed the girl by her wrists and threatened to shoot her with a gun if she did not get into his car.
He drove her around, took away her cell phone and dismantled it, and threatened to break her arm if she did not quit fighting and struggling.
He later drove to a cemetery in Brown County where he undressed her and raped her on the driveway, injuring her, according to the allegations.
The defendant tossed her clothes back into the car; she redressed and managed to get into the back seat as he continued driving. When he drove slowly, she jumped out of the car.
She lay still on the roadway and watched the car stop and the defendant throw the pieces of her cell phone into a field. He then drove by where she lay on the road and stated: "I'm sorry.''
She called her mother, who alerted authorities. She was found about 10 miles from Fairfax, and taken for medical treatment.
Fahey was arrested later in Marshall and taken into custody.
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Court records show that Fahey, who originally had a Fairfax address, has a juvenile and adult criminal history including convictions for burglary, possession of marijuana, underage drinking and most recently, a conviction for indecent exposure in Brown County. The terms of his probation for the Brown County offense required him to live with a family member in Fairfax, according to the court record.
