Deputies met with Victim #1, and she explained she had been “raped” by her father, James Raymond Kauten, [DOB REDACTED] (“Defendant”), starting at the age of 10 or 12 and not stopping until she was 18 and moved out of state. Victim #1 was making the report to Deputies because she recently moved back to Minnesota from out of state. Victim #1 told Deputies the first assault occurred when they lived in Bethany, in the County of Winona, Minnesota. Victim #1 lived with Defendant, her mother and her two sisters.
Victim #1 said she was 10 or 12 years old and thought she was in the 5th grade at the time. This would have been in 2015 or 2016. Victim #1 told Deputies she was walking downstairs in their house, when Defendant grabbed her. Defendant was only dressed in his underwear. Defendant threw her on the mattress, took her clothes off and vaginally penetrated her with his fingers and his penis. Victim #1 told Deputies she was sexually assaulted by Defendant 3 to 4 times a week. Victim #1 estimated a total of 200 assaults had occurred.
Defendant would typically come into her room when she was sleeping. Victim #1 described being orally and vaginally penetrated by Defendant’s penis. Victim #1’s mother was working overnights at the time, so she was not home when the assaults occurred. Defendant would also make comments toward Victim #1 about her breasts and buttocks, and would tell her that he wanted to get her pregnant on her 18th birthday. During the time the assaults occurred, Victim #1 had a boyfriend (“Boyfriend”) that lived in Tennessee.
When Victim #1 was 14, she started making video calls with Boyfriend. Victim #1 would occasionally fall asleep while the video call was still active. Boyfriend saw Defendant enter Victim #1’s bedroom. Boyfriend witnessed Defendant sexually assaulting Victim #1. Boyfriend reported what he saw to the Police in Tennessee, but no action was taken on his complaint. In 2018-2019, when Victim #1 was in the 8th grade, her family moved to a residence in Utica, County of Winona, Minnesota. Defendant continued to assault Victim #1 at the 3 85-CR-25-2111 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 11/14/2025 residence in Utica.
They lived there until Victim #1 graduated in 2023, and then she moved out of state. Deputies spoke to Victim #1’s 23-year-old sister (Victim #2). Victim #2 told Deputies that Defendant had also sexually assaulted her. Victim #2 described Defendant using his penis to penetrate her vagina. Victim #2 said it first happened when she was in 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade, when she was between 8-11 years old. Victim #2 said it happened too many times to count. Victim #2 said it stopped when she was in the 6th or 7th grade when her family moved to Utica in 2018-19. During the time the assaults were occurring, both Victims reported to their mother that Defendant had been coming into their bedrooms.
