Two people originally charged with criminal sexual conduct against four children were sentenced to prison terms of 33 months and 60 months after reaching plea agreements.
Rachelle Lynn Hasbrook, 33, of Raymond, and Aaron Matthew Vadner, 41, of Paynesville,
tendered Alford guilty pleas earlier this year .
Alford pleas are used for defendants to deny the charges against them on the record, but acknowledge if evidence collected against them were presented at a trial it would likely result in a guilty verdict.
Rachelle Lynn Hasbrook, 33, of
Raymond , pleaded guilty to four felony counts of child endangerment. In exchange, four counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct were dismissed.
Hasbrook was sentenced Aug. 28 in Kandiyohi County District Court to four concurrent sentences, the longest being a prison sentence of 33 months. She was sentenced to 18, 23 and 28 months on the three other counts of child endangerment. Hasbrook must register as a predatory offender.
Aaron Matthew Vadner, 41, of
Paynesville , was sentenced in a separate hearing Aug. 28 for three counts of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. Per the plea petition, four counts of felony child endangerment were dismissed.
Vadner was sentenced concurrently to 36, 48, and 60 months in prison with credit for 148 days already served. Vadner also must register as a predatory offender, and he will also serve a 10-year conditional release period following his confinement.
Hasbrook and Vadner were arrested in 2021 after law enforcement conducted an investigation into allegations that they had sexual contact with four children in 2018 and 2019 when living in Atwater.
The children alleged Vadner and Hasbrook would initiate different types of sexual contact, including anal and oral sex, according to court documents. All four children were under the age of 13 at the time of the alleged incidents.
Wentzell said while Hasbrook had been a victim of abuse herself and has taken the proper steps to address her mental health, she “failed miserably” to protect the children from the egregious actions listed in court records.
A member of Hasbrook’s family was present in court to read her statements to Hasbrook and Vadner.
“Why is it so hard to take responsibility? Even at our urging you could not plead guilty, but only said there was enough evidence against you,” she said in reference to the Alford pleas.
The family member said that she and other family members had given advice multiple times and she regretted not being able to intervene more.
“It took eight years too long for Kandiyohi County to take the children away,” she said.
The woman described awful scenes of abuse and neglect, getting so emotional Judge Wentzell had to instruct her to slow down and encouraged her to take her time.
“Eight years you molested, beat and neglected these kids and you still have the nerve to say you did nothing wrong,” she continued. “Because of you there will always be one more therapy … one more appointment to mend them … if it were up to me you would receive 25 to life.”
Vadner said, “I have no comment,” when given the opportunity to speak before his sentence was ordered.
Hasbrook used her opportunity to say that she was picky in finding a therapist, and was continuing to address her mental health. She said, “I just don’t want to be sick anymore.”
Under Minnesota law, convicted offenders must serve at least two-thirds of their sentence in prison.
According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections, Hasbrook's expected release date from the Minnesota Correctional Facility in Shakopee is June 30, 2025.
Vadner's expected release date is Aug. 3, 2026. He is currently incarcerated at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud.
