5 October 2023
BRAINERD After requesting mercy from the court, a 35-year-old Brainerd man was sentenced to 36 years an upward departure from state sentencing guidelines on Tuesday, Oct. 3, for the sexual abuse of a boy under the age of 13.
“The defendant asked for mercy, and we all want to be merciful … but that is not my role,” Crow Wing County District Court Judge Erik Askegaard said during Anthony Dimitri Limogianni’s sentencing. “You have my sympathy, though the sentence is warranted by law.”
Limogianni was charged in May of 2022 with eight counts of felony first-degree sexual conduct and four counts of felony second-degree criminal sexual conduct. During the trial, two second-degree criminal sexual conduct charges were dismissed.
A jury found Limogianni guilty on 10 criminal charges after a weeklong trial in July. On Tuesday, Limogianni and his attorney, Robert Jones, along with Assistant Crow Wing County Attorney Janine LePage, appeared before Askegaard in Crow Wing County District Court to give victim impact statements and requests for downward/upward departures, respectively, prior to sentencing.
LePage read to the court a victim impact statement from the child’s mother, who said the child only wanted Limogianni to tell the truth about what happened.
“There’s not enough therapy in the world to fix what he did,” LePage said as she read the statement to the court.
The mother’s statement said Limogianni had no remorse for what he had done and was only thinking about himself. She asked for him to remain in prison until he was rehabbed or dead, as it would not be fair to any community to have him released.
LePage told the court it did not matter that Limogianni’s family and friends did not believe any of the overwhelming evidence against him the jury did, and they found him guilty.
The state asked the court to find that Limogianni’s actions warranted an upward departure in sentencing, as he inflicted particular cruelty and was in a position of trust and authority. LePage told the court Limogianni was not amenable to rehabilitation, as he had a previous criminal sexual charge from 2015 on his record. She asked the court for a sentence of between 36 and 43 years, along with lifetime probation upon release.
In a request for a downward departure to sentencing guidelines, Jones asked the court to consider probation. Jones told the court Limogianni had always complied with the court’s requests and had the strong support of family and friends.
Limogianni addressed the court after the request for a downward departure was made, saying he did not agree with how the trial was handled. He then asked the judge for “fairness” as he asked how 43 years was fair, being he would spend most of his life in prison.
“I beg of your honor to not throw my life away,” Limogianni said. “I have a lot more life to live.”
After a short recess to review the requests, Askegaard told the court he would accept the jury’s verdict, as he believed they reached the correct verdict. However, he was disappointed Limogianni’s crime was still being denied by some in the face of all the evidence.
Askegaard sentenced Limogianni to 14 years imprisonment for count one, felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 years old. On count five, felony first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 14 years old by someone at least 36 months older, he was sentenced to 36 years. The sentences will be served concurrently.
Limogianni also received lifetime probation on both charges and was fined $23,376.
In Minnesota, a sentence consists of a minimum term of imprisonment equal to two-thirds of the total sentence, and supervised release equal to one-third of the total sentence.
The eight other charges were vacated as only the most egregious charges were sentenced.
Charges filed against Limogianni
According to court documents, on Dec. 21, 2021, a child was brought to urgent care and treated for a urinary tract infection after spending the weekend with Limogianni. The child tested positive for gonorrhea.
“A positive test for gonorrhea in a small child is generally indicative of sexual abuse,” the charging documents stated. Limogianni denied any sexual contact with the child, as well as denying having been diagnosed with gonorrhea.
According to the charging documents, on April 17, 2022, law enforcement was provided a recording the mother took of her talking with the child. In the video, the child said he didn’t want to talk about it but eventually told his mother Limogianni sexually abused him more than once.
Previous charges
According to court records, in 2011, law enforcement became aware of several incidents in the summer of 2010 involving Limogianni and a 12-year-old boy.
On March 5, 2015, Limogianni was found guilty of gross misdemeanor criminal sexual conduct-nonconsensual sexual act. His sentence of 365 days of confinement was stayed for two years while he was on supervised probation.
Limogianni’s supervised probation had a status of “closed” on June 30, 2017. In 2018, he filed a petition with the court to expunge the 2015 conviction. The petition was denied.
When the incident occurred, Limogianni’s legal name was Anthony Richard Yeager. He filed for the name change in February of 2011, and it was granted in April of 2011.
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