Predatory Offender Charged in Downtown Rochester Sexual Assault

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man who was sent to prison for sexually assaulting a Stewartville woman eight years ago is now accused of a sexual assault that occurred in downtown Rochester this week.

Convicted Sex Offender Faces New Rape Charges

A criminal complaint filed today in Olmsted County court charges 37-year-old Merwin Andrew Coleman with 3rd-degree and 5th-degree criminal sexual conduct. His bail is set at $100,000.

Police Found Victim at Hospital

According to the charges, Rochester police met with a sexual assault victim early Thursday morning at St. Marys Hospital. The victim indicated that she became intoxicated while drinking at a downtown Rochester bar and, after closing time, left to sit on a bench at the corner of 4th Street and South Broadway, where she stayed for a couple of hours before falling asleep.

Attacker Found Victim After Night of Drinking

The criminal complaint says the victim reported that she woke up to find herself being placed into the front passenger seat of a car by a stranger. The charges allege that the driver stopped the vehicle a short time later and sexually assaulted her before dropping her off at a nearby convenience store.

Registered Predatory Offender

The victim also stated that her assailant put his phone number into her phone and listed his name as "Dre Dredre." Court documents say investigators used the phone number to identify Coleman as the suspect in the sexual assault. The criminal complaint states that Coleman was on conditional release from his earlier conviction and was required to register as a predatory offender.

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Surveillance Video and GPS Data Key to Investigation

Another condition of his release was GPS monitoring. The charges say investigators were able to use the tracking data to place Coleman in the vicinity of the bench on South Broadway around 4:30 a.m. Thursday and at the convenience store approximately 20 minutes later. Surveillance cameras near the convenience store also show a car matching a vehicle registered to Coleman pulling into the convenience store parking lot and the victim getting out of the vehicle.

Coleman criminal complaint-Olmsted County court

The criminal complaint says the GPS data was also used to locate and arrest Coleman in northwest Rochester Thursday afternoon.

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Gallery Credit: Nick Cooper - TSM Duluth