A one-time Renaissance Festival and Trail of Terror supervisor could spend more than a decade in prison for sexually assaulting three teenage girls when they worked for him at the seasonal attractions in the southwest metro.
Bryan E. Ellinger, 31, of Shakopee pleaded guilty Tuesday in Scott County District Court in connection with assaults from 2012 to 2017 while he managed staff at the entertainment venues.
The plea agreement calls for Ellinger to admit to single counts of first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct in exchange for other similar counts being dismissed.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 24 before Judge Paula Vraa. While attorneys on both sides are allowed to argue the length of Ellinger's term, the plea agreement points out that he could receive a sentence as long as 19-plus years. With credit for time in jail since his arrest, that would mean Ellinger would spend about 12 years in prison and the balance on supervised release.
One of the three women told police that she was 15 when Ellinger, who was in his 20s, took her into a Trail of Terror trailer in 2012 and had sex with her, according to the charges. Another woman told police that she was 17 and Ellinger, then 28, assaulted her in 2017 on the job at the Renaissance Festival and at the Trail of Terror, the criminal complaint read. She also said Ellinger took her to his mother's home and forced her to join in sex with him and his girlfriend.
No matter the length of sentence, Ellinger must be registered for life with the state as a predatory offender.
"I guess I have predator behavior because I'm a predator" and need therapy for sex addiction, one of the two criminal complaints quoted the previously convicted sex offender as saying in a jailhouse phone call in March.
Apart from these cases, Ellinger has at least two convictions for sex-related crimes in Minnesota, according to court records. He was charged in Scott County as a juvenile in 2007 and found guilty of third-degree sexual assault for having sex with someone more than two years younger than him, as well as indecent exposure. He was convicted as an adult for failing to register as a predatory sex offender in 2009.
About a year later, he started working for Trail of Terror and the Renaissance Festival. Early this year, a spokeswoman for the operators of the two attractions said the company does not initiate background checks on prospective contractors but has them promise in writing to follow its policies, including avoiding harassment or causing other harm. Each of the contractors also attests to having a history free of crimes or conduct that causes or risks violence against vulnerable adults or children.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482
