ST. CLOUD – A former St. Cloud man was sentenced to more than three years in prison for raping a 14-year-old girl that he met near a St. Cloud park earlier this year.

Austin N. Ouellette, who turns 27 on Tuesday, was charged in May with two felony counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. In August, he pleaded guilty to one count and the second count was dismissed.

On Friday, Stearns County District Judge Andrew Pearson sentenced Ouellette to 41 months in prison, with credit for 211 days served, and ordered him to register as a predatory offender. Stearns County Attorney Janelle Kendall said Ouellette asked the court to stay his sentence, meaning he could serve probation instead of jail time, which the court denied. The sentencing guidelines for third-degree criminal sexual conduct convictions call for 41 to 54 months in prison.

According to the complaint against Ouellette, who now lists an address in Bayport, police were sent to St. Cloud Hospital for a reported sexual assault on May 26; at the hospital, a 14-year-old girl told police she was sitting under a bridge near Lake George the day before when Ouellette approached her and asked for a cigarette.

The girl said Ouellette, whom she did not know, invited her to walk to a gas station and then his residence in the 600 block of Ninth Avenue S. She told police that when they went to Ouellette's room to watch a movie, he pinned her down and raped her, according to the documents.

The girl said Ouellette told her that if she told anyone about the assault, he would hurt her and her family, the documents said. The girl then fled to a relative's house.

Ouellette's criminal history includes a conviction for fourth-degree felony assault on a peace officer and a few petty misdemeanors for driving after revocation.