U.S. Attorney’s Office, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office Spar Over Alleged Serial Rapist

(KNSI) – The U.S. Department of Justice and Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty are locked in a battle of words over a convicted sex offender.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota announced new federal charges last Wednesday for Abdimahat Bille Mohamed. The press release includes a quote from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in which she accuses the state of having “radical soft-on-crime policies” that have created a situation where predators feel they can get away with heinous crimes.

The criminal complaint says Mohamed first raped a minor in 2017, one of at least five victims, with the last happening earlier this year. September 15th, Mohamed kidnapped a woman in Mankato and drove her 70 miles to a Bloomington hotel, where he held her for nearly a week. When she tried to leave, he physically restrained and beat her. She was able to text her sister, telling her what happened and asking for help before Mohamed took her phone. On September 21st, she jumped from his car and asked a bystander to call 911. Police responded and took her to the hospital.

DNA evidence collected from victims in each case matched Mohamed’s DNA profile. The FBI is still actively investigating if there are more victims.

Moriarty has accused the DOJ of politicizing the case, saying that prosecutors in the original case against Mohamed had to deal with several critical witnesses refusing to testify. Moriarty says it was exceptional to still get a felony conviction, but the weakened case allowed Mohamed to avoid a long jail sentence.

Moriarty continued, “The current federal administration is more adept at pardons for violent insurrectionists and drug traffickers than prosecutions. If they intend to start caring about public safety and victims, we recommend they end their cover-up of pedophiles and those who protect them.”

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