Trial Ends For Third Man Accused of Kidnapping, Raping Woman in St. Cloud

(KNSI) – A bench trial for the last of three men accused of grabbing a woman off of a street in downtown St. Cloud and raping her has ended. Witness testimony finished on Monday in the case against Mohamed Hassan Abdi. The 23-year-old’s defense team and prosecutors will submit their closing arguments to the judge in briefs over the next couple of weeks. The judge will reach a verdict in early December. The St. Cloud man has been charged with four felony counts of criminal sexual conduct in the 1st degree.

Last week, a Stearns County jury found Abdirahin Omar Ali guilty of four first-degree Criminal Sexual Conduct counts in connection to the crime. He will be sentenced on December 17th. Earlier this year, Sahal Abdi Hassan pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal sexual conduct for his role and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

According to the criminal complaint, on October 18th, 2020, three men grabbed the woman while she was walking in the 700-block of West St. Germain Street and forced her into a car. The three are accused of sexually assaulting her as they drove around and at Haws Park in south St. Cloud.

The woman says she was able to get away and ran to the nearest house for help. According to the complaint, a sexual assault examination was done at the hospital and showed DNA evidence linking the three men to the assault.

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