Terrell Buechner was exonerated three times, once in 2019 and twice in 2020, for failing to register as a sex offender in Ramsey County, Minnesota.
Buechner, then 20 years old, was convicted in Barron County, Wisconsin, of fourth-degree sexual assault on November 27, 1996.
Buechner later moved to Minnesota and was charged on March 13, 2009, with failing to register as a predatory offender. Represented by Bruce Wenger, Buechner pled guilty on April 15, 2009, and was sentenced on May 21, 2009, to a year and a day in prison, with credit for 71 days, and 10 years on conditional release, requiring him to abide by strict regulations for sex offenders.
Buechner was arrested again on December 15, 2011, and again charged with failing to register as a predatory offender. Now represented by Evan Tsai, Buechner pled guilty on January 4, 2012, and was sentenced on February 7, 2012, to 34 months in prison, with credit for 65 days, and 10 years on conditional release. A judge resentenced Buechner in 2016, eliminating the conditional release requirement.
On January 23, 2017, Buechner was arrested a third time for failing to register as a predatory offender. Represented again by Wenger, Buechner pled guilty on February 1, 2018, and was sentenced to two years in prison, along with 10 years on conditional release. At his plea, Buechner said that he had missed a weekly check-in with law enforcement and that he had not registered a new primary address or told officials that he was homeless.
On July 29, 2019, Buechner, represented by Sean McGuire of the Office of the Minnesota Appellate Public Defender, filed a motion for a new trial for the 2018 conviction, arguing that Buechner’s Wisconsin conviction, which was for a misdemeanor, did not require him to register as a sex offender in Minnesota. The motion said that the equivalent law in Minnesota was also a misdemeanor that did not require registration.
“At his plea hearing, Buechner was asked if he was required to register as a result of his Wisconsin conviction,” the motion said. “He initially answers ‘no’ before agreeing with Wenger that Minnesota required him to register. That was incorrect.”
In a response dated August 28, 2019, the state agreed that Buechner had no requirement to register in Minnesota. It noted that in 2014, Minnesota changed its law to expand registration to include the original charge and not just the conviction. (Buechner had initially been charged with a second-degree sex offense.) But this expansion only applied to triggering crimes that took place after August 1, 2014.
On October 24, 2019, Judge Sara Grewing of Ramsey County District Court vacated Buechner’s 2018 conviction. The charge was dismissed, and Buechner was released from prison.
Buechner then filed separate motions to vacate his 2009 and 2012 convictions. Judge Grewing vacated the 2009 conviction on February 24, 2020, and the 2012 conviction on March 12, 2020, and those charges were also dismissed.
Represented by Charlie Clipper and Rebecca Duren, Buechner later filed three claims for state compensation. After a judge ruled that Buechner met the eligibility requirements for compensation, his attorneys met with the Minnesota Supreme Court’s compensation committee to negotiate the settlement terms. In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature awarded Buechner $810,432, including $18,925 in attorney fees.
– Ken Otterbourg
Posting Date: 06-11-2026
