Airbnb guest pleads guilty to attempted sex assault of host’s daughter

A Michigan man who rented a spare room at a Minnetonka home through Airbnb pleaded guilty to attempting to sexually assault a seven-year-old girl, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Derrick Kinchen, 28, pleaded guilty to the single count of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct of a victim under 13. He will be sentenced May 18. He is expected to receive the recommended sentence of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines. That sentence is five years on probation with 18 months in prison should he violate the conditions of his probation. Kinchen also will be sentenced to serve 120 days in the Hennepin County Workhouse, but will be given credit for the 142 days he already has served.

At his court appearance Monday morning, Kinchen claimed not to remember the events of the early morning of Sept. 24 and therefore made a Norgaard plea. Under that plea, he agreed there is sufficient evidence for a jury to convict him.

He acknowledged that those facts included that he rented a spare bedroom from a couple on Bellevue Drive in Minnetonka through Airbnb. That he was in town from Lansing, Mi. for a wedding and that he returned to the home around midnight. That the girl was sleeping in her parent’s bedroom. That about 15 minutes after arriving home, the father went up to the bedroom, saw lights on and Kinchen was lying on the bed naked next to his daughter. The father yelled at him and Kinchen grabbed his suit coat and wallet and fled.

Kinchen told the court that all he remembers is that he drank a lot that night, went to the bathroom and then thought he was going back to his room. He then remembered people were yelling at him and he ran. He later fell asleep in a neighbor’s boat until a police dog bit him and he was arrested.