North Branch man sentenced in sexual assault cold cases

A 46-year-old North Branch man was sentenced to 24 years in prison last week after pleading guilty to three sexual assault cases in 2010, 2011, and 2017.

According to a news release from the Chisago County Attorney’s Office, the cases had gone unsolved until a DNA match in 2023 linked Donald Warner to the assaults.

The release states that in each case, Warner had attacked young women who were walking in their respective communities at night. The most recent incident occurred in Lindstrom in 2017.

Warner pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of first-degree attempted sexual conduct in May.

He was also charged with escape from custody in April after briefly escaping from the Chisago County jail facility while participating in a work detail.