Woodbury man accused of criminal sexual conduct

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A Woodbury man accused of sexually assaulting a girl since she was 5 years old was charged last week with four counts of criminal sexual conduct.

Anthony Neil Sweet, 51, was being held in Washington County jail on a $500,000 bond after a Thursday, Sept. 20 initial court appearance. He was charged with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, along with third- and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct counts.

In a criminal complaint, Sweet is accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl known to him since she was 5 years old, as well as attempting to sexually assault the girl’s friend.

The allegations came to light this month after the friend of the girl told police Sweet had touched her sexually while she was staying at his home in August.

The friend told police that he entered the bedroom she was in and attempted to touch her genitals, whispered suggestively to her, then attempted to remove her shorts. The friend was able to fend off Sweet’s advances, according to the complaint.

Shortly after, Sweet apologized to the friend “and told her that he could get in a lot of trouble if she told anyone what happened,” the complaint states. The friend said Sweet offered her food and money, which she suspected was an effort to keep her from airing the incident, according to the complaint.

The friend told the other alleged victim about the incident.

“It gets worse,” the other girl replied.

That girl also spoke to police and recounted a near-lifetime of alleged abuse by Sweet.

In an interview with police, Sweet admitted to sexually assaulting the girl he knew since she was 5 and that it continued through August 2012. The complaint states he also admitted to taking photos of the girl while she was naked and in sexually suggestive poses.

Sweet also admitted he attempted to sexually assault the friend, according to the complaint.

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