Raymond Cesmat hangs himself in jail

Cesmat, 42, apparently killed himself

Raymond Cesmat was found dead, hanging from a bed sheet Friday afternoon in the Dakota County jail. Authorities say he was alone in his cell, and was found during a routine check performed on inmates about every 25 minutes.

Cesmat was the South St. Paul guy charged last week with two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct after the 12-year-old daughter of his ex-girlfriend was able to call for help during his assault on her by using her iPod and Facebook. He was being held at the jail in lieu of $175,000 bail.

The 42-year old man reportedly took the girl's cell phone away before he came after her while her mother was spending the night with a new boyfriend. The girl fought him off once. When he left the room, she grabbed her iPod, logged on to Facebook and found Cesmat's daughter online, sending her a message to call her mom immediately and tell her to come to the house.

Investigators say that Cesmat came back into the room. They fought again. He left. She pushed a dresser in front of her bedroom door. And then she climbed out the window, ran to a gas station and called her mom's cell phone using a pay phone. The mother was already on her way and called police.

Dakota County Sheriff Dave Bellows told the Pioneer Press that Cesmat was not on suicide watch.