Former New Ulm police investigator sentenced to 90 days for sexual assault of a child

Emily Baude KSTP

Eric Gramentz (Waseca County Jail)

A former New Ulm police investigator who pleaded guilty to three charges of sexually assaulting a child has learned his punishment.

Eric Gramentz, 43, was sentenced by a judge to serve another 90 days in jail, followed by 25 years of supervised probation. He’s already served a year behind bars since his arrest.

He also received a stayed sentence of 12 years (144 months) that he would likely have to serve if he violates any of the terms of his probation. Those terms include attending a sex offender program and not having any unsupervised contact with any minors. He’ll also have to register as a predatory offender.

In November of 2022, Gramentz was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim under the age of 16, one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 13, and one count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct – having a significant relationship with someone under the age of 16. Gramentz pleaded guilty to all three charges.

New Ulm police told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in April of 2022 that Grametz was on leave from the department. New Ulm Police Chief Dave Borchert later confirmed that Grametz was no longer employed with the New Ulm Police Department.

A criminal complaint states the Brown County Sheriff’s Office started investigating Gramentz on April 4, 2022, after the victim told an adult that Gramentz had touched her when she was 11 or 12 years old. The complaint notes that the adult then confronted Gramentz, who said he’d turn himself in to law enforcement.

According to a complaint, Gramentz admitted to telling the victim — who was experiencing stomach problems — that masturbation would help with the pain and then touched the victim while “coaching” the victim through masturbation. He told investigators he did that multiple times over a two-month span.

The victim also spoke to investigators and confirmed that story, saying Gramentz touched her “private parts” more than once, the complaint states. She added that Gramentz had told her not to tell anyone.

Additionally, she recalled waking up one time and finding Gramentz’s penis on her hand.

The complaint states investigators talked with Gramentz again after talking to the victim and he implied that his interactions with the victim became about him because it was risky and “something different” sexually. He also told investigators he knew he needed to stop what he was doing.

Gramentz will serve his sentence in the Brown County Jail.