An Apple Valley man sexually assaulted and strangled a woman in his basement bedroom after she repeatedly told him to stop, prosecutors say.

Justin Tyler Starr, who was 18 at the time of the alleged offense, faces charges of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving personal injury and force, third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a mentally impaired or helpless victim and domestic assault by strangulation.

According to the complaint, Apple Valley police learned of the assault on August 11, 2026, after the victim reported at a hospital that she had been sexually assaulted and strangled by a man she knew. Medical staff noted bruises on the victim’s neck and hips. The victim initially declined to speak with officers but agreed to an interview with a detective the next morning.

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The victim told investigators she had known Starr years earlier but had not been in contact for four years until he reached out to her on social media the month before. On August 6, they met at Starr’s father’s house, where Starr touched the victim in ways that made her uncomfortable despite her telling him to stop. On August 10, the victim went to Starr’s house again around 2:44 a.m. to watch movies in his basement bedroom.

The victim said she consensually kissed Starr but stopped when she noticed him becoming aroused. She also reported her jaw began to feel numb, which she attributed to Starr using marijuana “dabs” in a vaporizer earlier, though she did not use it herself. As they watched a movie, Starr laid behind the victim and began touching her under her pajama bottoms and underwear. The victim told Starr to stop and pushed his hands away, but Starr continued, eventually pulling down her pajamas and underwear.

The complaint states Starr continued despite the victim telling him to stop, then grabbed her throat with his arm and applied pressure. Starr then sexually assaulted the victim while squeezing her neck so hard she could not breathe or speak. The victim described feeling dizzy, her vision blurring and her body going numb. When Starr finished, he told the victim to lay down and go to sleep. The victim, still scared, pulled up her sweatpants and fell asleep.

Later, the victim awoke to find her pajamas pulled down and Starr again sexually assaulting her. Starr stopped as the victim woke up and pretended to be asleep. The victim then left the residence. She later told investigators she had previously woken up to Starr having sex with her before but had not felt able to speak up at the time.

Investigators reviewed text messages between Starr and the victim after the assault, which corroborated the victim’s account. Starr apologized for his actions in the texts but minimized what happened. During a police interview on August 24, Starr admitted to having a prior sexual relationship with the victim and said he did not clearly remember the night because he was intoxicated.

He acknowledged apologizing after the victim told him she did not want what happened and admitted to at least one prior incident where he had sex with the victim while she was asleep. Starr denied recalling the strangulation but said he tended to get into fights when drunk.

The charges were filed Friday, September 25, in Dakota County District Court.

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Jurisdictional Context

Dakota County, immediately south of Saint Paul, is Minnesota’s third-largest county by population. The Dakota County Attorney’s Office prosecutes felonies through the First Judicial District; cases are heard at the Dakota County Judicial Center in Hastings.