A 17-year-old Vernon Center boy has been found guilty of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct for sexually assaulting a girl under the age of 13. The incident happened in the Windom area last March. Jonathan Alan Giefer had taken the victim for a ride on an ATV when the assault apparently occurred. The victim later told an adult that Giefer had made sexual contact with her in the woods. The case was moved to Blue Earth County last month because Giefer lives in Vernon Center, and he was found guilty in a trial without a jury. His father is Jeremy Giefer, who received statewide attention several years ago when his conviction for sexually assaulting a teenager was pardoned by Governor Tim Pawlenty. Jeremy Giefer was 19 when that crime was committed, and was pardoned because he later married the victim. He was arrested again in 2010 after a teen girl claimed he had repeatedly sexually assaulted her. The trial in that case was canceled after the girl changed her story. Following Jonathan Giefer’s conviction in court on Tuesday, Jeremy Giefer reportedly said the charges against his son were blown out of proportion, and that prosecutors were “doing what they’re doing because of me.”