Otter Tail County man sentenced to 100 months in sex abuse case

A 26-year-old Otter Tail County man will spend 100 months in prison after pleading guilty in a case involving a 14-year-old Fergus Falls minor. Shea Hites was sentenced Monday and will serve the term at the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud, closing one stage of a case that began as a school-based concern and moved through a felony sexual-conduct investigation.

The sentence comes after Hites pleaded guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor. In Minnesota, that offense is a felony, and sentencing guidance for this class of sex crime generally calls for a prison commitment, with conditional release possible after the prison term ends. For Otter Tail County, the practical result is that the case now shifts from investigation and charging to incarceration and later supervision.

The allegations reached deputies after a school resource officer received questions from a 16-year-old, prompting a report to Otter Tail County authorities on March 27, 2026. Investigators later tied the case to sexual contact that allegedly occurred between March 2024 and August 2024. Earlier reports said Hites had been charged with two counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a 14-year-old Fergus Falls minor.

The sentencing underscores how quickly a concern raised at school can become a criminal case with long consequences for a family and a local community. When the victim is 14, the fallout extends beyond the courtroom, affecting trust, safety, and the support systems around a child who has already been harmed.

With the prison sentence imposed, Hites now enters the state correctional system in St. Cloud. Any release after the prison term would still come with the conditions attached to Minnesota’s sex-offense sentencing structure, keeping the case under court and corrections oversight even after incarceration ends.