Thomas Evenstad, 48, Was Jailed After a Rape Conviction – Now He’s in Bankruptcy

Last August, Evenstad moved into a rental home in West St. Paul in violation of residency restrictions on predatory offenders convicted by the city court system. His location is within 1,200 feet from a day care and group home according to court pleadings.

Evenstad lived close to a suburban Hennepin County attorney who successfully prosecuted him in 1999 for criminal sexual conduct with an 18-year-old girl he met through Buddy System chat lines; her wife felt threatened by Evenstad’s presence at their house.

Early Life and Education

Thomas Evenstad, 48, who was arrested following his rape conviction has been accused of harassing Minnesota court and law enforcement officials involved with his case – such as the sheriff and prosecutor involved with this one. Allegedly creating unwanted websites under their names or prompting them to purchase security systems as well as stalking victims’ families including their children is one of these allegations against Evenstad.

Evenstad was found guilty in 1999 for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old whom he met through an online chat line, serving 11 1/2 years before being civilly committed upon his release. At a hearing held at BCA on March 9 2014, Evenstad became hostile towards staff and threatened physical aggression towards them; later that week he showed up at an assistant Hennepin County attorney’s suburban home ringing her doorbell and telling her “he had been wrongfully convicted,” leaving only after she informed him she would call 911 on her home address.

Professional Career

Thomas Evenstad is a winemaker and proprietor of Evenstad Estates vineyard in Oregon’s Dundee Hills. This internationally-recognized vineyard produces world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines; additionally he teaches an innovative wine studies course at Linfield College.

West St. Paul recently passed a 2016 ordinance restricting residency for sexual offenders, alleging these restrictions are too broad and unconstitutional. Evenstad, 52, has been classified as a Level 1 offender since 1999 when he raped an 18-year-old female, although residency restrictions don’t exist in St Paul where Evenstad lives – eventhough his appearances at public meetings and hearings for treatment programs relating to Level 1 offenses is common and evenstad is known for his often confrontational behaviors and aggressive conduct.

Achievement and Honors

Domaine Serene has won international praise for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines, and for the exceptional quality of its vineyards, winemaking process, and management practices.

Grace and Ken Evenstad’s gift to Linfield University will fund both its Grace & Ken Evenstad Center for Wine Education as well as an endowed faculty position, the Evenstad Chair in Wine Studies. In addition to their work at Linfield Winery, Grace & Ken Evenstad have donated and raised more than $20 Million for various philanthropic causes nationwide.

He gained play-by-play experience at WXXQ/Freeport, Ill.; WDBQ/Dubuque, Iowa; WNAM-WAHC/Appleton-Oshkosh and WEKZ/Monroe as well as university campus radio stations like WSUP of University of Wisconsin-Platteville. ESPN featured him as part of their Home Talent baseball coverage while hosting his weekly sports talk show on WPVL/WGLR.

Personal Life

After graduating college, Evenstad began work as a pharmacist; but, feeling “an urge to do more”, bought Upsher-Smith Pharmacies with Grace’s inheritance money from Upsher-Smith Pharmaceutical Company of Minneapolis and began creating and innovating new drugs – building his business into one of the giants in generic drug production.

Evenstad was found guilty of rape in 1999 but maintained the assault was voluntary. After being sentenced, Evenstad began harassing Minnesota judges and law enforcement officials involved with his case by showing up at their homes or creating websites in their names that led visitors back to his own website, according to a complaint filed against him. Evenstad also regularly berated them on social media – according to this same complaint.

Police arrested him at his Edina residence, noting his fluctuating demeanor midsentence from calm to angry as they handcuffed him and that he screamed while they handcuffed him. Since his conviction of rape was upheld despite an appeal and petitioning a state court for relief; unfortunately his request has been denied.

Net Worth

Thomas Evenstad of Minneapolis who built up a billion-dollar generic drugs business has filed for bankruptcy. According to court documents, Thomas’ net worth stood at approximately $1.3 billion.

Prosecutors say Thomas Evenstad, a convicted sexual offender who appeared at Hennepin County Sheriff Rich Stanek’s home last week and threatened him and his family, wearing odd clothing that fluctuated between calmness and anger, made an unexpected visit there last week, according to them.

He stalked a judge who sentenced him for raping an 18-year-old woman, according to prosecutors. They allege he created unwanted websites in their names that linked back to his blog where he publicly attacked them and led to them hiring security guards or installing security systems; finally he moved into a west St. Paul duplex — violating a city ordinance restricting where registered sexual offenders may reside.