St. Paul Coffee Shop Owner Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Worker
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – A St. Paul coffee shop owner is facing charges after a 15-year-old girl says he sexually assaulted her last week.
Eduardo Delariva-Larios was charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the case. He's the owner of Coffetarik, a shop with two locations on the East Side of St. Paul, one in the Indigenous Roots Cultural Center.
According to the charges, the girl was working at the coffee shop on July 7 and met with officers on July 10. She told them Delariva asked her if she had a boyfriend, and she said she did.
The complaint states the conversation turned sexual, which made her uncomfortable. She later went into the back room of the shop, he allegedly followed her and began touching her breasts and vagina over her clothing. She said she froze with fear, too frightened to say anything. He eventually began touching her in a sexual nature under her clothing.
The complaint states when the incident was over, she went back to the front counter and he followed. He asked her if she was OK, and she said she was. He then said, "I would never wanna hurt you."
The girl started washing items in the sink, and Delarita approached her and kissed her, saying, "We don't need to tell anyone or the police what happened – a trial would be such a mess and long."
Delarita was on scene at the time and was arrested. He called the allegations "bull****" and said he wanted to speak to his lawyer.
He told police she came to work at the coffee shop and her first day was July 7. He said she told him she had a boyfriend, and he asked her if they had sex. She told him they had tried. Delarita told police he told the girl she needed to understand how her body worked and how to take care of it. He said he talked to her about menstruation, and told her she needed to learn about the sensitive parts of her body.
The complaint states she told him she wanted to learn about things with her boyfriend. Delarita then went back and started touching her body. He said she then started touching him, and he told her to stop because it wasn't right and he wanted to protect her.
Delarita told police he apologized to her because he knew he had done something wrong, and knew she was 15. He admitted he made a mistake, and said the girl was very pretty and she was flirting. Delarita has prior convictions for solicitation, inducement and promotion of prostitution in Hennepin County.
The Indigenous Roots Cultural Center's Co-Founder and Co-Director, Mary Anne Quiroz, called police after learning of the assault.
She said in a statement, "Eduardo's actions and behaviors are toxic to our community and should be stopped. We hope that justice is served and this man can no longer threaten or harm anyone in our community."
Police say based on the evidence, it's possible there are more victims. They also want to make clear that a victim's status as a citizen is irrelevant to the case.
"Regardless of what their life circumstances are, if you are a victim of a crime we are here to help you and we want you to come forward," said Steve Linders, St. Paul Police spokesman.
