A 15-year-old girl left home without permission and was sexually assaulted by an adult man she met at a McDonald’s restaurant in New Brighton.
Matthew Brooks Dargis, 36, of New Brighton, faces one count of criminal sexual conduct in the 3rd degree for engaging in sexual penetration with the victim, who was under 16, at his apartment in Saint Anthony. The charge was filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court.
According to the complaint, the victim’s guardian contacted the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office on February 8, 2026, after discovering the victim had left home and had sex with an adult male. The guardian found a phone number among the victim’s belongings, which led investigators to Dargis. The victim told her guardian that she called the number and spoke with a man who identified himself as Matthew Dargis.
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Investigators learned that Dargis met the victim at a McDonald’s in New Brighton and brought her to his apartment in Saint Anthony, where the sexual assault occurred. The victim told investigators that she ran away on January 28, 2026 and returned home the next day, which is when the assault took place.
The victim later gave a statement to a nurse at the Midwest Children’s Resource Center, saying she met Dargis at the restaurant, agreed to go home with him and told him she was 18 years old. She said Dargis brought her to his apartment, where they had sex and then drove her home the following day.
Investigators confirmed that the phone number found by the guardian was registered to Dargis and that he lived at an apartment in Saint Anthony. On March 30, 2026, officers executed a search warrant at Dargis’s apartment, which matched the victim’s description, including the presence of boxing equipment. Dargis was present during the search but declined to give a statement to investigators.
Court records describe the victim as a minor who did not have permission to leave home. The complaint does not mention any prior criminal history for Dargis.
A court date has not yet been set.
About This Charge
Minnesota’s criminal sexual conduct statutes are organized by degree under § 609.342 (first), § 609.343 (second), § 609.344 (third) and § 609.345 (fourth). First-degree convictions carry up to 30 years in prison; the lower degrees carry penalties up to 25, 15 and 10 years respectively. Cases involving minors trigger additional mandatory-minimum provisions and predatory-offender registration under § 243.166.
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Jurisdictional Context
Ramsey County encompasses Saint Paul and is served by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Felony cases are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul; the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
